The Unknown Daughter
by Z-Nugget
Summary: Mia Lestrange has always been compared to a woman she's never met; people who get to know her think otherwise. But when she goes to Hogwarts for the first time, which path will she follow? Rated T but does contain more adult themes in later chapters.
1. Hogsmeade

_Disclaimer: I do __**not**__ own anything apart from Mia, and the plot. The rest belong to J.K Rolling. Also, Bellatrix Lestrange is __**not**__ related to the Black family in my story. _

Mia walked through the deserted streets of hogsmead alone. As usual. It was early in the morning around 7am, and there was hardly anyone else around, this was the way she liked it.

Mia Lestrange lived with her foster parents, Andromeda and Ted Tonks, and her sister Nymphadora. They weren't actually related, but they were very close. Her hair was pinned back for a change, lose jet black curls pulled off her face and hanging down to her shoulder blades, a single green streak of hair standing out from the rest, of which was somehow natural.

Her mother was Bellatrix Lestrange. Yes, the infamous Bellatrix Lestrange, and had been locked in Azkaban ever since her daughter was a few months old, she probably wouldn't win mother of the year any time soon. Her father was... well, she knew the name, but that's really as far as it went, anyway knowing her mother, he probably wasn't that great a person and not worth the acknowledgement.

The 11 year old girl was starting Hogwarts next month, her letter arriving several weeks ago and was getting all her supplies from Hogsmead early. The shops were starting to open and more people were appearing in the street.

As Mia walked to hunny-dukes to get something to eat; Yes sweets were her form of something to eat, she bumped into a little redheaded girl, causing her to drop the few books out of her bag that she was carrying, two of which were muggle ones. Living with a muggle born as a stepfather really had rubbed on her taste.

"Sorry" said the redhead, as she bent down to pick up the books, her face a flush of embarrassment.

"It's fine" Mia tried to reassure her, a friendly smile on her features as she took the books back. Why was it an embarrassing thing to bump into someone? Annoying maybe, though luckily it took more than that to get her annoyed.

"I'm Ginny," the redhead introduced, either the smile at put her at ease or she was a very friendly girl herself. "Ginny Weasley".

"Mia Lestrange" Mia put the books back in her bag, making sure the titles were kept hidden in case anyone walking past disapproved, hey it wasn't rare to find purebloods with a hatred for anything muggle in Hogsmede after all, then turned and looked at Ginny, taking in every detail quickly. Her clothes looked old and frayed at the edges, the jacket possibly a hand-me-down suggesting she had a sibling, maybe many.

"Where are you going to then"? She asked finally, attempting to make conversation.

"Flourish and blots" Ginny replied "you?"

"I was going to go to Hunny-dukes, but I need to go to Flourish and Blots anyway, isn't there some famous person there?" Mia asked, though she did like to be alone, maybe making a friend that appeared to be in her year would be a good idea.

"Yes, I'm meeting my mother and most of my brothers there, mum wants to see Gilderoy Lockheart" Ginny grinned, she did have a slight crush on him, no matter how old he was. "Who are you with?"

"No-one, I came by myself" The darker haired of the two replied with a shrug. She wasn't one of those clingy people who felt the need to go everywhere with a parent, she was independent. Or at least that was the word she preferred.

"Really? Why?" The intrigued look the new girl gave suggested she wasn't the same, in fact Ginny could never think of going into hogsmead by herself.

"My mother's locked up in Azkaban, and my adopted parents are too busy right now" she said matter-of-factly, not ashamed of who she was. It wasn't like it was her fault anyway. Might as well get everything out the way now right?

"You're mom's in Azkaban? What did she do?" Resisting the urge to sigh and giving a shrug instead, Mia gave an answer,

"Killed someone I think, I don't really know" Ok, so maybe she'd lied and did actually know what her mother had done, but that was going too far to admit after knowing the girl for all of give minutes.

"Oh, sorry" Ginny mumbled, feeling slightly guilty for asking in the first place. It wasn't really any of her business and she should have known better.

The two girls started to walk towards Flourish and Blots when Ginny stopped and looked into one of the shop windows. The other stopped two when she realised she was no longer being followed, her eyebrow raising.

"What is it?"

"That broom" The broom in question was the new Nimbus 2000 in the window. It looked beautiful, and was ridiculously overpriced. "I would love that broom"

Mia couldn't help the laugh that parted her lips.

"Don't you have a broom already?"

"Kind of, two of my brothers are on the quidditch team so they need brooms, the rest of use share an old one" the rest of us? Just how many siblings were there in her family.

"We don't have that much money" Ginny added onto the end, finally tearing her eyes away and walking forward again, following Mia.

"Oh" Mia said guilt flickering through her, there was a vault full of gold and many other items she had never even heard of in Gringotts that because her mother no longer had access to it, was now all hers.

As the girls reached Flurish and Blots, they were met by a plumpish woman, a huge smile on her face, with flaming red hair to match Ginnys.

"There you are!" the woman said, "I thought you were going to miss him" Mia resisted the temptation to recede into the shadows.

"Mums been going mad wondering where you were" said another red head, this time a boy that had appeared behind the woman that was obviously Ginnys mother, the boy most likely one of her brothers.

"She was going to send a search party out-" another boy, which looked exactly like the first one said, though stopped mid sentence and looked at the new girl he'd not seen before and only just noticed. He tilted his head to one side and gave a lopsided grin. He put his hand forward and was just about to speak when his twin jumped infront of him.

"Feorge Weasley, nice to meet you" the first twin said laughing slightly. The other twin then pushed his brother out of the way and addressed Mia.

"Gred Weasley, the better looking twin" he said giving Mia a wink before smirking at his brother.

Ginny sighed and shook her head at the things she was told were her brothers.

"These are two of them, Fred and George. And they will stay away from you don't worry" Ginny threatened, giving her brothers warning looks. The raven haired girl smiled back, she wasn't anything if not polite.

"I'm Mia Lestrange," she said, taking the hand that had been offered by the twin who'd winked, shaking it then crossing her own arms loosely.

"Lestrange?" Fred asked, giving his brother a worried look, ofcourse the Lestrange name was well known among older wizards, but these two really weren't that old.

"Yes, why?" A slight frown appearing on her features. Why were questioning about her last name? Was she about to lose the friend she'd just made?

"Isn't that a name of a death ea-" before George could continue his brother had elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to take a sudden intake of breath. He looked up at Mia's face but she was suddenly looking at the floor. Ok, so maybe she was slightly bothered by who her mother was and what she'd done.

"Oh erm, sorry…" he gave his brother a look as if to say how was he supposed to know better and they both walked off to find their friends who had just walked over to a desk.

Just as Ginny was going to say something, two more people had walked through the doors towards them; catching Mia's attention and making her look up. One of the boys had red hair and was clearly another brother of Ginnys. Just how many siblings did this girl have? The other boy had black hair and emerald green eyes like Mias. The redheaded boy didn't seem to notice her, then again he barely acknowledged his sister. Before any of them could speak however, there was a clattering noise and Gilderoy Lockheart, or at least she presumed he was Lockheart, walked up to them and grabbed the black headed boy.

"I don't believe it!" he said, his voice incredibly annoying even after the first few words. "It's Harry Potter!"

Mia stood and watched while they took pictures and Lockheart spoke for a while. She didn't really understand the fuss. Ofcourse she'd heard of Harry Potter, the boy who lived, but he was just a person after all. She'd hate to have all this fuss over, so she imagined he must hate it too. When Harry finally walked back over to them, a boy with platinum blonde hair came walking down the stairs sneering at them. He wasn't bad looking in all honesty, but his attitude sure sucked.

"Bet you enjoyed that didn't you Potter." The boy hissed. "All the publicity there. Can't even go to a bookshop without getting your picture in the local paper."

"Now now Draco" an older man with the same coloured hair, though a lot longer whom Mia assumed was his father appeared out from behind a shelf. "Try and be civil to the less fortunate" he smirked slightly, showering where his son got it from.

"We aren't less fortunate," Ginny stated, annoyed.

"Shut up Weasley". Draco hissed, showing he obviously knew who they were.

Mia turned all of her attention to the blonde, glaring up at him,

"Leave her alone"

"Oh and who do we have here?" Draco's father said looking at Mia curiously, a blonde eyebrow arched.

"Mia Lestrange" she watched the man as his eyes widened, a general response to her last name, though his was more extreme than usual.

"Your mother, who was she?" he demanded his eyes fixed firmly on hers. Why was he asking, wasn't it obviously? I mean, how many people did he know with that as a last name? It was hardly common.

"Bellatrix Lestrange, why, did you know her?" Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow, the man's face changing to anger, but before he could start saying something, yet another redhead, an older man this time, possibly Ginnys father walked over.

"That is quite enough Lucius." He said standing infront of the two girls, as if shielding them.

Lucius watched the girls silently for a moment before taking the few books out of Ginnys cauldron and looking at them, shaking his head and putting them back.

"Even these books are in tatters" he said with distaste, before turning around to face Mr Weasley. "I shall see you at work on Monday I expect those papers finished"

He had a smug look on his face as he turned and left the shop expecting Draco to follow him. Draco looked at Harry a smirk on his face that seemed to be a permanent feature.

"See you at school Potter" he sneered again, turning around and following his father out of the shop.

Mia looked at the clock on the wall, before glancing at Ginny. "I have to go…" she muttered picking up her bag that had been dropped "I'll see you at Hogwarts?" she smiled at the thought knowing it wasn't that far away. Her friends face fell and she nodded, the idea of being left with her brothers again saddening.

"Ok… I'll see you then" she gave a half hearted shrug, an attempt at showing it was no big deal as Mia walked out of the shop making her way back home.

Fred and George looked at Ginny wondering where Mia had gone. "Where is she?" Fred asked looking around the shop and pushing George out of the way, his brother nearly tripping over his own feet.

"Watch it" he muttered, pushing him back, more playful than anything.

"She went home" Ginny looked up at her brothers and couldn't help but laugh at the look on their faces. She wished she'd had a camera with her they were priceless! "You'll see her at Hogwarts" She added, fearing slightly for her new friend.

_Author notes: ok I rushed the end so I know it's not very good. This is my first fanfic but I didn't know how to start it tbh so I hope it's not to bad. ADDED: Ok, so the new updated version is up, hope you liked it, I still rushed the ending slightly, I really didn't know what to write. I know it's not a great chapter, but the problem is I have her in a few years time when Mia's in 4th year ready, but obviously I need this bit done first. I have the plot and everything in my head, I just hope I can get it onto the page correctly. Please comment with your ideas and what you thought,, I really do appreciate them Z-Nugget_

_**ADDED: updated again, mainly because one review made me realise these first chapters could be better, so i'm starting with this one. If you're a new reader, some of the chapters still need updating so please just give it a shot, they get better I promise. Well, you can be the judge of that! **_


	2. The Journey

Mia made her way to the platform with Tonks at her side carrying her single bag and twittering on about Hogwarts. Mia nodded every so often pretending to pay attention and catching odd words like 'houses', 'Snape' and 'stay away from-' Her thoughts were else where thinking that she might be able to finally get some answers about who her father was. According to Tonks, Dumbledore knew about everyone so he would surely know who he was, wouldn't he?

Before Mia could finish her train of thoughts she was interrupted by someone calling her name. She sighed to herself and looked in the direction of the voice. She blinked a few times before realising it was the little red headed girl she had met a few days earlier; Ginny.

Mia half smiled saying goodbye to Tonks and walking over to Ginny with her trunk. She put the trunk down and let someone pick it up and load it onto the train. Pulling her hair out of her face she sighed smiling at Ginny again,

"Ok, so we get on there, right?" Mia questioned looking over at the red steam engine. Ginny nodded and opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by two twin boys suddenly appearing behind Mia, making her jump. She looked round recognising that they were two of Ginny's brothers; Fred and George. Both twins grinned down at Mia before George ran onto the train after his friend Lee Jordan. Fred rolled his eyes still grinning at Mia,

"Alright Lestrange?"

Mia nodded scowling at being called her last name. Fred smiled at her before looking round and jumping onto the train after George shouted something out of the window, resulting in him getting kicked in the shin.

Ginny rolled her eyes linking Mia's arm and going onto the train walking up and down in search of an empty apartment. A smile flickered over Mia's features as she spotted an empty one, rushing into it before it could be taken, Ginny following her. Tucking her black hair back out of her eyes she sat down on the dark seats, crossing her legs and continuing the convocation she was having with Ginny before the twins had interrupted them.

Both girls glanced out the window waving at as the train started to move, before Mia stood up and walked over to the door, sliding it open and looking down the corridor,

"I'm gonna go for a walk"

She said quietly to Ginny before stepping out of the compartment and shutting the door behind her. Turning left and slowly making her way down the train, swerving through the few crowds of people stood having convocations, she smiled to herself, glad non of them were paying much attention to her. She jumped as the twins came out of a compartment, ducking into the one next to her to avoid them.

"Excuse me"

A sneer of a voice said forcing Mia to turn a slight frown on her face. The frown disappeared, replaced by one of distaste as she saw who it was, the same boy from the bookshop; Draco.

"Sorry"

She muttered stepping back out of the compartment quickly, rather having to put up with Fred and George than Draco, though luckily for her, both were gone. Mia sighed to herself walking back down the corridor and slipping into her own compartment, sitting in silence while Ginny chatted to Lavender and a few others for the rest of the journey.

A/N: I know it's only short, but I really hadn't a clue what to write for this part. I guess it's more of a filler chapter than jumping straight to the next part. It does get better I promise xD Z-Nugget xx


	3. The sorting

The train came to a halt outside the station, and students all flooded off. Mia and Ginny hopped off, looking around for the minigiannt of a man they had been told would take them to the castle. Luckily for them he wasn't hard to find.

Mia sighed to herself as she saw the boats, realising that was their way over, though she'd never liked water much. She slowly stepped into one with Ginny and waited for the giant to send them off, looking around curiously at where the other years were going. A slight confused look appeared on her features as she saw the horseless drawn carriages,

"How are they being pulled?"

She raised an eyebrow looking to Ginny, who just shrugged,

"Useful"

She muttered still starring at them. Mia had always been a smart girl, so when there were things she didn't know, she didn't like it. She let out a sigh of relief as the boats stopped and everyone started climbing out, nervously making their way up to the castle. Mia turned to Ginny, chewing down on her bottom lip lightly; an annoying trait she'd picked up,

"What house do you want to be in?"

She questioned as they walked with the crowd. Ginny thought for a moment before smiling,

"Gryffindor like the rest of my family, you?"

Mia continued to chew her lip unsure. Her mother had been in Slytherin, so if she was placed into that house wouldn't everyone assume she was like a women she barely knew? Ravenclaw seemed like a good house in her opinion, she was smart enough to be in it, but the only person she new at this school was Ginny, and there was no doubt what house she'd be put into,

"I'm not sure, the same as you I guess, just not Slytherin"

She admitted quietly. Ginny gave a small nod understanding what she ment, she'd hate to be in Slytherin too.

They reached the castle and all the first years headed into the entrance hall, smiling nervously. Mia looked around the hall in amazement, before taking a step backwards along with the rest as professor Mcgonagall appeared at the front, saying a few words to the students about what would take place in the sorting ceremony. Once she'd finished speaking, the first name was called, and a small blonde haired girl stepped forward slowly. She looked around before making her way to the front of the hall and taking a seat. Her face disappearing as the hat was placed onto her head, and seconds later called out,

"HUFFLEPUFF"

The girl smiled as the hat was taken off of her head and hoped down off the stool, quickly walking over to a spare seat at the hufflepuff table, retrieving cheers from all of them.

Mia looked around as more names were called, staying close to Ginny. She held her breath as 'Remelda Labroke' was called and a tall blonde walked forwards, barely having the hat on her head for 2 seconds before it called out,

"RAVENCLAW"

The girl stood back up and took a seat at the clapping table. Mia sighed looking down at the floor knowing she was next. She glanced up at Professor Mcgonagall, who gave a small nod before calling out the next name,

"Mia Lestrange"

Biting her bottom lip harder, she stood forward, ignoring the whispering all around her as she made her way to the stool, thankful for how big the hat was as it was placed onto her head, covering up line of vision. A frown flashed across Mia's features as she heard someone speaking in her ear, guessing it must have been the hat,

"You'd do well in Slytherin as did your parent's"

The hat said, receiving a frown it's wearer,

"I don't want to be in Slytherin"

She said quietly, though the whole room heard her perfectly.

"Why not my dear?"

The hat questioned smiling at the crowd. Mia sighed, giving a small shrug,

"Because I'm not my parent-"

The hat barely let her finish her sentence before it interrupted,

"You determined your own destiny, and yours would do well in… SLYTHERIN"

The hat got taken off of her head, and Mia looked out to see silence in the whole room, before she stood up from the stool and walked quickly to the Slytherin table, taking a seat and trying to make herself as invisible as possible. Though that didn't seem easy. After a few seconds the headmaster started clapping and everyone joined in. It was not long before the whole Slytherin table had erupted into cheers and applause. Thankfully the next name got called out, and soon enough it was Ginny's turn. The little red head walked to the front and sat down, and within seconds the hat had shouted out,

"GRYFFINDOR"

She hoped down off the stool, smiling happily and joining the rest of her family. Mia sighed as she finally looked up from the floor, glancing at Ginny who gave her an apologetic look. The twins who were sat either side of their sister gave her a small wave, well atleast she wasn't automatically hated.

The headmaster stood up, smiling happily at everyone and gave a small speech, before the feast started. The food looked nice, but Mia wasn't hungry, and no one around her was paying her much attention anymore.

She waited until most people had filed out of the hall before standing up and making her way over to Ginny, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the main crowd,

"What am I going to do?"

She frowned. Ginny shrugged looking apologetic at Mia. There was nothing anyone could do when you were placed into a house,

"It's only your house, and you'll be with another one in all of your lessons, don't worry"

She reassured before jumping as someone tapped her on the shoulder. Hermione smiled down at both of them before turning to Ginny,

"Have you seen Ron, or Harry I can't find either of them?"

Ginny blushed a light pink at the mention of Harry but shook her head all the same,

"No sorry"

She muttered before smiling at Mia again, then walking off in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. Mia looked from the new girl to the floor, a small sigh parting her lips,

"I have to go…"

She trailed off before starting to follow a group of Slytherin's in the direction she hoped, was the common room. Mia quickly went through the entrance with the group before looking at the common room she was to live in for the next 5 years. She sighed, it wasn't exactly warm and cosy. The green and black dark room was full of Slytherin's, talking about their timetables for the on coming year, though most of them stopped to stare at her as she entered. Sighing again she turned walking up the stairs to where she guessed the bedrooms would be. Stopping once she reached the door labelled 'first year girls' she took a breath in before pushing it open, happy to see it was empty for now. She walked over to the bed that had her case infront of, and plopped down onto it and, taking out one of the spell books from her trunk. She propped herself up on her elbows and began to flick through it curious about what she would be learning this year. Not long after two more girls piled into the room, chatting about spells before both fell silent as they saw Mia. The girls looked at each other as they sat down on their beds, before they began talking in hushed voices this time. Mia sighed turning on her side to face away from the girls as she tried to continue reading her book, wondering if the rest of her time here would be like this.

_Authors notes: Ok__ This chapter was written rather quickly, sorry it's not extremely long but hey atleast its more than the last one. Please leave reviews, I do appreciate them xx_


	4. Not who he seemed

The year started off slowly after the sorting ceremony, with nothing interesting happening for the first few months. Mia sat next to Ginny in most of her lessons, receiving glares from other class members, it was not seen right that a Gryffindor be friends with a Slytherin. Though neither of them cared. She'd been kept behind in her last potions lesson, getting told by professor Snape that she was being moved up to the next year in that lesson as she was doing so well. Though she wasn't pleased about it herself. It ment she'd have to hang around with her best friends brother.

Catching up with the rest of the crowd, Mia and Ginny followed their classmates up to the great hall to have lunch, both girls frowning as the crowd stopped walking. Before either could ask what was going on, two identical red heads appeared behind Mia making her jump. She turned frowning at both of them, and was about to question everything; if anyone was to know it would be those two, Filch came shoving past everyone to get to the front, shouting out in horror as he saw something the girls could not. Before they could utter another word to each other, professor Mcgonagall had rushed to the front of the crowd, parting everyone easily as she surveyed the situation, a small gasp escaping her lips. She turned back to the crowd gathering, her face unreadable,

"Back to your common rooms"

She commanded, and everyone started to move away from the scene, the girls still clueless on what had actually happened.

Though news spread fast. Filches cat had been murdered, and with no clues how students were sent home to Christmas break a few days earlier. Though Mia wasn't one of them. She had nowhere to go after all. Tonks was busy with aura training, and Mia didn't want to intrude on her.

With Ginny gone Mia was alone for most of the time. She sighed sitting in the room she'd come to know as her bedroom, though it still felt like a strangers. Running a hand through her dark hair she tried to cover the green streak she detested so much, but failing she stood up, walking down the stairs and into the Slytherin common room. It was only two days before Christmas. She looked around the near empty room, sighing happily that everyone was on Christmas break. Taking an empty seat on one of the sofa's, she curled up with a history book she'd borrowed from the library and began to flick through it. A small frown appeared on her features as another person walked into the room, looking up to see who it was, the frown stayed in place. She curled back up, trying to continue reading, though got stopped once more by the boys loud complaining. Mia shut her book, placing it down on the sofa before standing up and walking over to him,

"What's wrong?"

The blonde haired boy looked up at Mia, his infamous smirk on his face,

"Nothing you'd understand" Draco said his voice a sneer. Mia rolled her eyes, glancing over his shoulder and seeing the Spells homework on his lap,

"You got question 3 wrong, it's false" Mia retorted a small smile on her lips, "And question 5" The smirk disappeared off of Draco's face as she spoke, changing to a glare. He thrust the paper up into her hands before crossing his arms and looking at her expectantly. A puzzled look flashed over Mia's face as she took the paper glancing down at it,

"I'm not doing it for you"

She muttered placing it on the chair infront of them before turning and walking back over to her own seat and picking the book back up. It wasn't that she minded doing other people's homework, she did Ginny's quite a lot for her, but it was the way Draco had _expected _it of her. She was no ones slave, especially not a Malfoys.

Draco stood, a small sigh parting his lips,

"Help then"

Those two words made Mia stop reading her book once more and glance up, a Malfoy asking for help? She shook her head slightly, getting rid of the thoughts passing through her mind. She shouldn't judge people based on what she'd heard.

"Sure"

She smiled moving over on the sofa to allow him room to sit down, before looking back over the work with him. Though Mia was younger than Draco, she was smart enough to be in his year, and was already doing the same work. She'd even been moved up in some of her classes.

With Mia's help the work was finished quickly, and she swore she'd seen Draco smile atleast once when he'd got an answer right. Mia stood up smiling at Draco happily before picking her own book up and walking towards the door. Draco frowned slightly watching her,

"Thanks.. Mia right?"

He questioned still looking at her. Mia gave a small nod before taking a step through the portrait hole and walking up the flights of stairs from the Slytherin common room to the great hall. Draco hadn't been that bad, and she couldn't understand why all of the Weasley's hated him so much. Sure he seemed cocky and had an air that suggested he was better than everyone else, but once you got past that, he was actually an alright person.

_Authors notes: ok__ so I'm putting all these on at once, but it will start to slow down soon as I haven't written them all yet. They're not as long as I'd like, but I have no idea how to make them longer :/ Please leave reviews ily all x_


	5. Christmas presents

There was no surprise for Mia when she awoke on Christmas morning not to find many presents by her bed. Who was there to give her any anyway? She pushed herself up out of bed, pulling on her dark green dressing gown and perched herself on the edge of her bed glancing around the empty dorm room,

"Merry Christmas"

She muttered more to herself as she picked up one of the present and unwrapped it. A small sigh escaping her lips, as she looked down at the chocolates Tonks had sent her. Well it was the thought that counts right? She shrugged the thought off and opened the next present, which appeared to be a hand-knitted jumper from Mrs. Weasley. Pulling it over her head she frowned looking at a small box-shaped present, wrapped in dark green paper. Who could that be off? Picking it up, Mia ran her fingers across the silk paper, unwrapping it carefully before a small gasp escaped her lips. Inside the box was an amazing hair clip. Not just any ordinary clip though, there was a Slytherin green emerald on the end, and from what she could tell, it was real. Who on earth would be able to buy her that? Tonks didn't have that much money to spend, and neither did Ginny, who else was there? Confusion on her features, she looked through the small box, finding a card in the bottom of it with four words on it._'Thanks For The Help'._ Still confused she stood up and walked over to a mirror in the room, placing the clip delicately into her hair, trying to pin back the green streak with it. It looked so beautiful in her opinion. Smiling, Mia opened the door to the girl's dorm room and walked down the stairs, not really caring that she was still in her pyjamas. There wouldn't be many, if any people in the common room anyway. Maybe she could just sit by the fire and try to get her hand on some marshmallows.

Missing the last two steps she jumped down onto the cold stone floor and shivered slightly at how cold it was down there. Well so much for marshmallows infront of the fire, it wasn't even on. She pulled her dressing gown tighter around herself, wondering if she should go back upstairs and grab her duvet, though before she could ponder on the thought, she felt someone else standing behind her.

"Merry Christmas"

The person said quietly almost whispered into her ear, making her jump and spin on the spot to see who it was. She should've remembered Draco was still there, after all she'd helped him with his homework only a few days ago.

"Merry Christmas"

She responded before turning back around and walking over to the fireplace, wanting something to do instead of watching Draco.

"What are you doing?" The blonde asked walking down the rest of the steps and over to her. Mia shrugged wondering if he'd laugh at her idea of sitting by the fire with marshmallows. Oh well, if he did it was his lose, it was a fun activity in her opinion.

"Trying to light this, then I'm going to get marshmallows and put them on the fire. Want to join me?"

She asked, though already assumed he'd say no, she went back to trying to light it. You can imagine her shock then when Draco responded differently.

"Move over then" He said before pulling out his wand and pointing it at the fire "Incendio" were the words from his mouth that made the fire light, and a smile appear on Mia's features.

"Thanks" she said, standing up and heading towards the portrait hole, "I'll get the marshmallows" She said over her shoulder, though was stopped by someone grabbing her arm.

"I'll get them, I know how to get what I want at this school, unlike you"

The smirk was back on Draco's face as he pushed past Mia gently. It was only then she realised he was dressed, where as Mia was still in pyjama's, Mrs. Weasley's jumper and a dressing gown. She nodded before heading upstairs, deciding it better to be in actual clothes.

"Now what to wear..?" She asked herself, not really understanding why she was suddenly so bothered by what she was going to wear. Normally this sort of thing didn't bother her. Shrugging she pulled out a newish pair of black jeans and a green top with 'Christmas' Written on it. Well atleast she'd be able to be christmasy _and _Slytheriny. Smiling as she looked at herself in the mirror, she adjusted the hair clip before walking back down the stairs, a grin spreading across her face as she saw Draco sitting on one of the sofa, a bag of marshmallows in his hand. She perched down on the edge of the sofa, taking one of the marshmallows he'd held out and, placing it onto a fork Draco must have put onto the table, held it over the fire for a while. She wanted to make conversation with him, but had no idea what to talk about. This all seemed so strange to Mia; normally she'd just be able to talk for hours on end, but not with Draco, the thought of saying something stupid, made her feel uncontrollably embarrassed just thinking about it.

Though luckily for her, Draco spoke and interrupted her mind babble,

"What's it like then, having someone like that as your mother?"

Mia frowned, not used to people being so up front with things like that. Then again, she'd actually expected subtlety from Draco Malfoy? A small laugh escaped her lips at the thought, shaking her head at the questioning look Draco then gave her, the smile soon fading from her face,

"I can't say I'd know. I haven't seen the women in years"

She said shrugging off the question, it wasn't really a topic she liked talking about. Mia glanced down at the marshmallow, now a light brown colour. A small smile flickered across her lips as she moved it away from the fire and blew on it to cool it down.

Draco lent back on the green sofa, watching her carefully. She seemed different to most girls; she wasn't throwing herself over him for one thing. But there was something else, something he couldn't quite put his hand on. Almost drawing him too her.

Mia glanced up from the marshmallow, her eyes flickering to Draco's, though not being able to hold his gaze, and looking back at the cooling down treat.

"Thanks.. for getting everything"

She said quietly taking a bite out of the marshmallow. Draco glanced up at the clip in Mia's hair, a small smile flickering across his features before shrugging and standing up,

"You're welcome"

He replied before turning and walking out of the room, leaving a confused Mia behind. Well, nothing new there.

_Authors notes: __I like this chapter, it's rather sweet in a odd way I guess. Please review xx_


	6. Duels, don't always go to plan

Though the Christmas holiday had been a nice break, Mia was glad when the rest of the school returned. She'd ended up spending most of the holiday either helping Draco with his homework, or letting him show her all the secret passageways of this incredible school. He really didn't seem as bad as everyone made him out to be. He was rather sweet really.

That was the topic of Mia's internal babble as she said goodbye to Ginny and walked to her Defence against the dark arts lesson. Draco. When Ginny had got back to school, and asked Mia what she'd been doing, that was what she'd said. Spending time with Draco. And what was wrong with that after all? But Ginny didn't seem to agree, neither did her two twin brothers who always seemed to be bumping into her somehow. All three of them seemed to love bad-mouthing 'Malfoy' as they called him. Why couldn't they even call him by his first name? It was all so silly.

Turning the corner into the corridor of her lesson, a small smile flickered over Mia's features as she saw Draco, though it flickered slightly as she saw his two cronies on either side. What was the point in them? They were both idiots and probably couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag. Mia shrugged to herself inwardly, stopping her internal babble and moving into a newly made space between Crab and Draco.

No words were spoken, no 'hellos' no 'how are you's' But the acknowledgement of each other's presence was there. As always.

"Enter Class" Said the voice their D.A.D.A teacher, Professor Lockheart. All the others girl were falling over him, giggling at the chance to speak to him. But why? He wasn't even that good looking. Sighing Mia followed Draco into the class, glancing around as she noticed the normal desks that filled up the classroom, were now pushed to one side, and professor Snape appeared to be standing at the opposite side of the room. Standing behind Draco, she waited for the rest of the class to file in. This was such a pointless subject for Mia in her own opinion. She couldn't even do anything. Well, _she _could cast spells on others, but if others tried to do the same to her… It wasn't a pretty outcome. Still for unknown reasons to herself, or anyone else for that matter, Mia had a lot of power. More than she could handle. She could take a guess at why she had so much, something to do with her parents. She'd read about an article somewhere, saying that someone born from a descendent of Slytherin, and one of Gryffindor, would had too much power. But that couldn't be the situation. Her mother was after all, 100% evil, and as far as she new, Not, a descendent of Slytherin, and there was no way her father was going to be a descendent of Gryffindor. So that option was out the window.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, she looked up as Lockheart stood up on the huge table she'd only just noticed in the middle of the class room. How could she have missed that?

"Now class, today you're going to have the treat of seeing me duel poor old professor Snape over there, but don't fret, I wont harm your beloved potions master. Much"

The female portion of the class laughed at his pitiful attempt at a joke. All except Mia that was. Whilst Snape just stood there looking un-amused. Both professors took their places on the table and faced outwards.

"Ready?" Lockheart questioned, smiling down at the girls gathered infront of him, though his question was obviously directed at Snape.

"Ofcourse" He replied in a scarily silky voice.

Both professors took 3 steps forward, before turning around to face one another, Lockheart casting the first stun spell, which Snape blocked easily. Mia didn't pay attention to anymore of the duel, she didn't like either professors that much. Instead she let her internal babble start again, though this time on a different topic. What would happen if someone tried to cast a spell at her? Would it be like when Tonks had when they were younger? Mia couldn't remember a thing about it. One minute Tonks was shouting at her for messing up her room, and had got her wand out, and the next thing she new she was lying on the floor, with an incredible headache and Tonks was panting on the floor in a heap. She never would tell Mia what had actually happened.

Lockheart getting sent flying across the room caught her attention at last, and she stopped talking to herself long enough to her him ask for another volunteer. This time one of the students. What a stupid idea, he was obviously going to be better than them. Hmm, he'll probably pick Harry, she thought to herself. That would be interesting to see who would win. Possibly Harry, it would be funny to watch.

"Use Mia"

A voice said, that made Mia look up shocked at it's holder. Why would Snape suggest that? He knew she couldn't. Shaking her head, Mia tried to hide herself behind Draco, maybe if Lockheart couldn't see her, he'd ignore Snape's suggestion.

Unfortunately, he didn't.

"Perfect, Mia come up here, don't be shy I wont hurt you"

Mia shook her head again; trying to back away from the class, though other members had started to push her forward towards the table, and before she new what had happened she was standing on it, looking down at everyone.

'He's not going to go ahead with this, surely. They both know not to' She thought to herself slightly panicked. What if she embarrassed herself infront of class? Or actually hurt him. That wouldn't be good.. She'd be hated. Possibly killed by all the girls.

Stumbling over to Snape, still shaking her head she tried to get him to see sense,

"You can't do this, I'm not _allowed _to do this, I don't know what might happen!"

She whispered quickly, worry obvious in her voice. Though Snapes silky laugh made her take a step away from him. Why was he laughing? This wasn't a laughing matter.

"Don't worry Mia, it'll go _fine_" He muttered before pushing her forward slightly and stepping down off the table.

Mia swallowed loudly, turning slowly to look at Lockheart, he can't seriously go through with this, Can he..?

"Get your wand out ready Mia, We need to give you a little fighting chance atleast"

He laughed lightly, and once more, the female proportion of the class chimed in. Shaking her head again, starting to feel like one of the bobble headed dogs, she pushed her wand further into her back pocket. Maybe if she didn't get it out, he wouldn't bother and would pick someone else. But that didn't seem what was going to happen.

"Please just pick someone else"

She whispered, almost begging. There was a terrible feeling in her gut, like this wasn't going to end well.

But Lockheart just smiled at her encouragingly, not seeming to take in her plea.

"It's your own choice, but if you don't want to defend yourself, this wont be a very good duel"

He half shrugged before turning and taking 3 steps towards the end of the table. Mia shut her eyes, biting down hard on her bottom lip, was there still time to run? Maybe if she was really fast she cou-

Mia awoke in the hospital wing, once again, with a splitting headache. Her eyes flickered open slowly, and she waited for them to adjust to the lighting. How'd she get here? Pushing herself up slowly, she winced, every part of her seeming to ache. What the hell had happened?

"Mia?"

Someone questioned, and she turned her head slowly to see a worried, and slightly scared looking Draco. Blinking a few times in confusion, she nodded,

"What?"

Draco watched Mia for a few seconds before sitting down on the chair by her, still seeming on edge.

"What happened to you Mia…"

He asked quietly, looking down at the floor, not being able to keep eye contact with her anymore. What had she done? It couldn't have been that bad… could it?

"I don't… I don't know…"

She whispered, shutting her eyes and wishing she could just go back to sleep, not have to think about what she could have done.

_Lockheart turned, a small smile on his features as he pointed his wand at Mia, slightly confused as to why the girl was so scared, it wasn't going to hurt that much._

"Expelliarmus"

_Mia's hand shot up, moving infront of her and to the side quickly, deflecting the spell.. How was that even possible? The class blinked several times in confusion to what they'd just seen. All eyes now on Mia. _

_Mia__'s arm dropped back to her side, her eyes opening slowly, though the green colour of them suddenly gone, replaced by almost black, and the well known green streak in her hair, __also gone._

"_I did warn you"_

_She said, in an almost demonic voice, taking a step towards a confused and stunned Lockheart. Mia's hand slowly rose infront of her towards Lockheart, as if she was holding it out to him, and her head titled sideways slightly,_

"_But you wouldn't listen"_

_She blinked once more closing her fist slowly, the action causing Lockheart to double over in pain, a spine-chilling cry parting his lips. The whole event however, making a smile play across Mia's features, her hand still continuing to close._

_As if having enough of seeing Lockheart in pain, Snape finally stood up and pulled out his wand, pointing it at Mia and muttering a spell. A small scowl replaced the smile that had been on Mia's features, as she turned and blocked the spell Snape had sent at her, though loosing concentration on Lockheart, he's screaming stopped._

"_That wasn't very nice"_

_She said crossing her arms and frowning, but turning her head to glance over at Lockheart, The smirk back on her face._

_Somewhere between Mia holding her arm out again to torture Lockheart, and him pleading with her not to, Snape had regained his composure and sent another spell at Mia, this one catching her off guard and sending her flying backwards into the wall, knocking her out._

_Snape smoothed out his clothing and glanced down at where Mia had landed, not seeming bothered that she could be injured._

"_Mr Malfoy, I trust you are able to take Miss Lestrange to the infirmary, yes?"_

_All eyes moved from Mia's motionless body to Draco, as the scared looking boy gave a small nod and walked over to her, carefully scooping her up in his arms and carrying her out of the room down to the infirmary._

_Authors notes: Ok, so I wrote this chapter pretty quickly, I had the idea for this years ago, so I'm glad it's finally up. Hope you like it, and please review, Thankyou to everyone who's actually reading this story and following it Z-Nugget xx_


	7. Unusual help

After a week of lying in that boring infirmary, Mia was finally able to go, though within the time she'd been there, a lot had happened with the school. 3 more people had been paralysed by some unknown source, one of them being a ghost believe it or not. She shouldn't have been happy about all of that happening, but atleast it was distracting people from what had happened in the DADA lesson.. The worst part was Mia seemed to be the only person in the whole school who _didn't _know what had happened. As she made her way back to the common room, the few people she did pass either glared at her for hurting their precious Lockheart, or pressed themselves against the wall, almost in an attempt to get away from her. What did they think she was going to do? This was getting stupid, it wasn't even her fault!

Muttering the password to the portrait she sheepishly crept through into the chattering common room, though as soon as everyone realised whom it was, the room fell silent. 'Lovely' She thought walking through the parting mass watching her and up to her dorm room. Just what she wanted, the whole school afraid of her. Even Draco hadn't been to see her after that first day she'd awoken in the hospital wing, and he'd been on edge the whole time. The only other people who had bothered to see her were Ginny, Fred and George, and luckily they'd just been jokey the whole time.

Knocking on the bedroom door once Mia twisted the handle, a small frown flickering across her features as it wouldn't open. Why wouldn't it open?

"They've kicked you out"

A silky voice said behind her that she recognised straight away as Dracos. Mia shook her head, that wasn't possible, you couldn't choose who your room mates were here, you had to share with your year.

"They're scared of you Mi" Draco said, almost sadness in his voice. What had he to be sad about? This wasn't his problem.

"And you aren't?" She turned away from the door, her hand dropping from the cold metal handle. Sure, she could go to Snape and say the other girls had kicked her out, but would she really want to share a room with them, it wouldn't exactly be pleasant with the trouble they'd get in for kicking her out in the first place.

Draco shook his head slowly, Truthfully, he wasn't scared of Mia, he was scared of what had happened to her, but that wasn't the upset looking girl infront of him. "I got Crab to carry your trunk up to my room, there's a spare bed so I thought it was better than leaving it here"

Mia bit down on her bottom lip lightly. The options were A) To go to Snape and say what had happened, B) Sleep in the corridor/common room, or C) Sleep in the spare bed in Draco's room. "Lead the way" She said, turning from the room and descending the stairs from the girls dormitories to the boys. Once again the common room fell silent, though it didn't seem to bother her as much now she was following Draco, who seemed to be ignoring all of them. A confused look flashed over Mia's face as Draco didn't open the first door on the left when they'd got up the stairs. She was sure that was the second year boys dormitory. But instead he carried on up the stair case to the top floor and pushed open the only door, revealing a huge room, though it only contained two beds, king sized beds mind you. Was this actually his _own _room?

"Father paid for me to have my own room" The blonde said, as if reading Mia's thoughts, his infamous smirk across his features as usual.

Mia shook her head half in disbelief at how spoilt Draco really was, before making her way over to her trunk and looking through the contence. Everything seemed to be inside, except-

"There was a clip.. an emerald hair clip, it was on the cupboard in my dorm"

She said almost in a rush as she searched the trunk for it. She wasn't even sure why it mattered to her so much, she was still clueless as to who'd got her it, but she had to find it. Draco's hand on her shoulder distracted Mia's frantic searching and caused her to look up at the young blonde, a sigh of relief parting her lips as she saw the clip shinning in his other hand.

"Don't worry, it was the first thing I picked up"

Draco said, the smirk still in place on his features as he placed it onto the cupboard by Mia's new bed, before turning and taking the few steps to his own bed, and plonking himself down.

"Thankyou" Mia mumbled as she sat down on her new bed, it still seemed unreal that Draco actually had his own room, and even odder that she was now sharing with him, where as his two cronies didn't appear to. Either that or they were sleeping in hidden dog baskets in the corner. Mia laughed at the idea of that, resulting in Draco giving her an odd look that she shook off. She doubted he'd find the idea of his 'friends' sleeping in dog baskets funny.

Mia glanced around wondering if there was a hidden bathroom in here somewhere, another laugh parting her lips as she noticed a door next to Draco's bed. "Bathroom?" She questioned standing up and hesitating. Draco gave a nod picking up the book beside his bed and turning onto his stomach, and she took it that was the end of their talking for tonight. Shrugging slightly she went into the bathroom and locked the door, before losing her breath at the sight. The room was nearly as big as the bedroom itself, with a hard black floor that had little specks of gold in (Possibly real, anything was possible with Draco she was starting to believe), and light walls. There was a huge bath in one corner, and a shower almost as big in the other,

"This is unreal" she muttered as she leant over the bath and turned on the hot water. This was just what she needed, time to relax after being stuck in a hospital wing and finding out the whole school was scared of her. Slipping off her uniform she clambered into the bath and let the water soak away her troubles.

Unfortunately she couldn't stay in the bath forever, and after a few hours she reluctantly got out. After drying herself off and wrapping a towel around her hair, she glanced around noticing a dark green night-gown hung up over the door. Taking a guess it wasn't Draco's and he was still too young to be having another girl stay over in his dorm, she pulled it on and looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror.

"Unreal" She muttered again, keeping the towel on her hair and walking out of the bathroom. Draco was still lying on his bed, the book between his arms. He didn't even glance up as she walked past to her bed.

"Thankyou for this Draco" She said quietly before pulling the lovely soft covers over her and turning away from him. She didn't get a reply before falling asleep.

A/N: an unusual twist.. ooh. Sorry xD Yeah, kinda a filler chapter but then not at the same time. I guess I'm slightly rushing this year of it as I want to get onto the 4th and 5th and so on. Thanks for reading xx


	8. The chamber

_A.N: As usual, I don't own anything except Mia. The storyline and other characters are all the wonderful . _

A few people gave Mia odd looks everytime she went up or came down from the boys dorms, but no one questioned it. She guessed Draco had probably threatened people not to say anything to her. Things seemed to quieten down after that, and though a few others were petrified, not much more happened.

Mia was glad for her classes to end that day though, double potions with hufflepuff really wasn't her idea of fun, and as she stuffed her books into her bag she hurried down the stairs towards the Slytherin common room.

"Pure-blood" She said glancing at the portrait and stepping through. Thankfully the common room was empty and she sat down on one of the black sofa's putting her feet beneath her and getting out her book again. She was glad to be able to sit down here rather than having to stay in her and Draco's room. It was also the same routine. Mia would get straight in from classes and go up to their dorm, sit on her bed and do her homework, go out for dinner and talk to few people, occasionally Draco, then go back to the dorm. She'd see Ginny or her older twin brothers sometimes in the week and stop and talk, but since the incident with Lockheart, barely anyone wanted to be seen with her. A few even thought she was the heir of Slytherin who had opened the chamber of secrets. How ridiculous. So to be able to sit in the common room was a nice change. Unfortunately she wasn't alone long, as Draco followed by his two cronies walked in. Crab and Goyal looked different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on how. She shrugged off the thought and gave Draco a small smile and moved over for him to sit down, before folding the page of her book and closing it.

Mia paid faint attention to the conversation, until Draco mentioned about someone dying. She's asked him about it before, mainly out of curiosity, and he hadn't told her that.

"All I know is the last time the chamber was opened some mudblood died. That'll probably happen this time, _I_ hope it'll be Granger"

"Who died?" She questioned turning to face Draco slightly. Though why she was asking she didn't know.

"How should I know?" Draco raised an eyebrow before shrugging off her question and continuing talking to the dogs as Mia now referred to them, though only to herself mind you. She didn't listen to the rest of the conversation, and instead thought of who could have died. It must've been over 50 years ago, no student would remember who, would they? Shaking her head at herself, Mia muttered a goodbye to Draco and the dogs, and went out of the common room to the library. Maybe there was some information on it, maybe something to get people to stop thinking she could be the one to open the chamber. On her way she bumped smack into Ginny, the young red head looked even more frantic than usual. Mia frowned,

"Are you ok?"

Ginny startled looking around before clutching a book to her chest and nodding, "Yes, fine. Busy, just busy" She managed a rather forced looking smile and headed off at almost a run in the direction she'd come from.

"Weird" Mia said to herself as she carried on to the library. She hadn't spoken to Ginny in weeks properly and she did miss her. If truth be told, she slightly missed Fred and George too. When all this was over she vowed to catch up with Ginny, but for now, the library called her.

Unfortunately she found nothing in the library, and as she walked back to the common room something caught her attention. Over 10 teachers were all stood beside one of the corridors looking at the wall, and as she saw what they were looking at, the one book she'd managed to find interesting fell from her hands. Though before it actually hit the floor with the 'thud' that would give away she was still out after curfew, someone snatched it and pulled her backwards with their hand over her mouth. Mia squeaked and struggled for a second before she realised it was Harry and Ron and let out a sigh of relief.

"Who's been taken?" She whispered walking forwards and peering round the wall again. Both boys struggled and stood besides her trying to listen to the teachers. Neither were bothered by her being there, unlike most the school they treated her like they had the first day they'd met her in bargain and burts.

What they heard next, non of them had expect.

"The girl who's been taken, is the youngest Weasley girl" Said professor McGonagall.

All three froze not believing what they'd just heard,

"Ginny" Ron whispered shaking his head. Mia turned away from the teachers and almost ran down the corridors as if running from the whole situation. Ginny couldn't be taken, she was Ginny. Lovely little Ginny. No, she couldn't be taken. And if she'd been taken to the chamber of secrets… That means she could be.. No. She couldn't even think about that.

Harry and Ron were talking about getting Lockheart to help find Ginny,

"I'm coming with you" It wasn't a question, but a statement. There was no way Mia could just sit there while Ginny was in danger.

So the three of them quick walked to Lockhearts office and pushed open the door. What they saw was shocking, it almost looked like he was trying to leave. He couldn't leave, he was meant to be the best defensive teacher there was.

"Going somewhere?" Harry questioned seeming as shocked as Mia was. Lockheart jumped at the sound of the voice and continued packing "I-I'm needed elsewhere" he mumbled grabbing one of his bags and attempting to walk out the room.

"Ginny's been taken, we need you!" Ron said, his tone reluctant, as though he didn't want to admit it. But they did need him if they were as good as he was meant to be. Lockheart shook his head, and gave another pathetic excuse. Non of them were taking it and they had to practically drag him to where Harry had explained he thought the chamber might be. Mia frowned as they entered the girls' bathroom that was haunted by moaning myrtle. The young ghost made Mia jump as she appeared behind her and gave her a filthy look.

"Who are you?" Myrtle said in a moody tone directed at Mia. What had she ever done to this ghost? Harry frowned slightly at Myrtle and let go of Lockheart, "She's a friend, I need her help" He mumbled before asking Myrtle how she'd died,

"I don't know. I just remember seeing a pair of great big yellow eyes, and then I came back again. I was determined to haunt olive hornbe"

Mia barely listened as Harry questioned the stupid ghost over where she'd seen this and instead decided to watch Lockheart. Considering he was meant to be a brilliant defence teacher, he was shaking like a leaf. While she contemplated how he'd managed to get his 'reputation', Myrtle had shown Harry the sink she thought it was, and he seemed to be examening one of the taps.

It looked like an ordinary sink to Mia. Or atleast, until Harry saw it. Scratched on the side of the one of one of the copper taps was a tiny snake.

"That taps never works" Said Myrtle happily as Mia tried to turn it as if wanting to prove her wrong. Mia turned to Harry thinking for a second,

"Say something, open or something in parceltongue?"

Walking over to the circle of sinks and looking at them, before speaking something in parceltongue that Mia didn't understand but guessed was open. Her mouth opened slightly in shock as the sinks dropped down to create a staircase leading to she could only guess; the chamber of secrets.

"Wow" She heard Ron mutter, and all four started to descend the stairs, Ron's wand firmly against Lockhearts back to make him move. They waited until Lockheart was down the stairs first, and the three followed.

Mia glanced around at her surrendings, making a look of disgust at the slimy floor. "Under the lake probably" She mused, before getting out her wand, "Lumos" she whispered, smiling as the tip of her wand lit up. There wasn't much to see in the tunnel, but Harry also lit his own wand just to be sure. Ron kept his wand firmly in Lockhearts back to stop him from turning and running back up the stairs to freedom.

They were all trying very hard not to imagine what Ginny would look like when they found her. Ofcourse they would find her.

"Guys, there something over there" Ron whispered stopping in his place and shutting his eyes. Lockheart pressed his hands tightly over his eyes, while Mia and Harry both squinted as much as possible, still walking forwards towards a large outlined shape they couldn't yet make any idea of. After walking a few paces they noticed it was an empty snakeskin, and they opened their eyes fully. It must've been over 20ft long.

There was a crash behind them as Lockhearts legs must've given way, and Ron grunted telling him to get back up. Mia couldn't help the slight smile that crept onto her features at the thought of Lockheart on his back with his feet in the air, and she hoped Ron would start hitting him with rocks to wake him up. Unfortunately this didn't happen, as Lockheart got to his, but dived at Ron knocking him to the ground and stealing his wand, a gleaming smile back on his face, much to the dismay of the young black haired girl.

"The adventure ends here. I shall take a sample of this skin back up to the school, say I was too late to save the girl, and that you three lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body. I can't let people know that you're the one who found this snake, I need the credit like always" He raised Ron's spellotaped wand and yelled "Obliviate" The explosion from the wand was enough for Mia to scream and cover her eyes and the ceiling fell from above them. Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her backwards quickly before something fell on her head, and she made a mental note the thank Harry for it later. She waited for the sound of falling rubble to stop, before unshielding her head and glancing around. Herself and Harry appeared to be on one side, Lockheart and Ron either trapped under it or on the other side. Part of her hoped Lockheart was trapped under. After shouting a few times, Harry and Ron spoke to each other, and agreed they were wasting time. So Mia and Harry went on ahead. Neither speaking, and both on high alert for movement after seeing the snakes skin. The tunnel turned, and turned again, and Mia wanted the tunnel to end, though she wasn't sure she wanted to know what would happen when it did. Atlast as they rounded another corner, a large wall blocked their path, with two giant stone serpents in the middle. Mia didn't bother to tell him what to do this time as she did with the sinks, and within seconds they were parting to let them pass.

At the end of the dimly lit chamber, stood a tall black haired older teen. He looked quite handsome, his hair neatly sweeped back and piercing green eyes that seemed to bore into her soul.

Mia continued to stare at him for a few seconds before noticing a small form lying on the floor beside him. Realising it was Ginny, both her and Harry ran forward shaking their heads. Mia was shocked as she knelt down next to the girl she'd begun to call her best friend. She was so cold, but she had to be ok. She had to be. She ignored Harry talking to the other boy, holding the small red head close in an attempt to warm her up. Or that was until the boy said his name,

"Tom Marvolo Riddle, I Am Lord Voldemort"

Mia blinked staring at him again, "Tom Riddle?"

He looked down at her, giving a small nod, a bemused look on his face. She looked away from him and at Ginny, shaking her own head slightly and cradling Ginny in her arms. That couldn't be.. Could it? The name.. _that_ name. No. That wouldn't make sense.

Somewhere in her mind babble she noticed a huge snake coming out of the corner and towards Harry. That wasn't going to get her aswell was it? Ofcourse not she was just an innocent bystander, wanting to save her friends life. Luckily, the snake went past her and dived at Harry who narrowly missed. But just to be safe Mia dragged Ginny's lifeless body to the side leaning against the wall and staying out of the way. Shock covered her features when she saw a beautiful bird carrying the sorting hat fly into the room and land beside Harry. And she watched in even more shock as he got a sword from somewhere and managed to kill the basilisk. A small squeak parted her lips as it crashed to the floor making her jump. How on earth had he managed to do that? But now he looked hurt. 'Should I go over? But help would I do, if that thing bit him, I can't help' She thought chewing on her bottom lip, still cradling Ginny. She shut her eyes not wanting to watch as Harry possibly died, but after a few seconds she heard a screaming coming from somewhere else. A miracle really had happened, as 'the boy who lived' was stabbing the diary that had possessed her best friend. And the thing that was even weirder, was Tom now had light coming out of him. It all seemed so unreal. But then again, didn't being a wizard?

After a few minutes the older teen was gone completely and Ginny was moving in Mia's arms as if starting to wake up.

"Thank god"

The young black haired girl looked up to see Harry smiling down at Ginny, the stabbed diary in his good arm.

"I know how we can get back" He said still smiling and glanced at forks.

_A.N: Slightly rushed towards the end, not brilliant I know. But the problem I seem to be having is I keep writing later on chapters of Mia when she's in 5/6__th__ year. Kinda annoying as I can't upload them yet, so I'm rushing a little to get these done. As always, PLEASE leave comments, I really do appreciate them and they inspire me to write more. Thankyou to everyone who does leave them, and Thankyou for reading! xxx_


	9. The year ahead

Even being a witch seemed more normal than getting flown by a giant bird back to the school toilets. Though it was nicer than having to walk. Luckily by the time they got to where the rocks had fallen, Ron had managed to shift enough to create a gap big enough for all of them fit through. The look of relief on his face when he saw his sister was safe, was enough to make all 3 of them smile.

Though Lockheart looked clueless. Apparently the spell had backfired when he'd tried to obliviate Ron's mind, and he now couldn't even remember his name.

"This is like magic!" he said as they flew back. I think I preferred him before, she thought annoyance in her mind. This was going to be a long flight. But maybe it would give her time to think. That name.. Lord Voldemort.. But he'd been almost.. Normal at one point.. Shaking the thoughts out of her head she glanced around as her feet touched the ground. This was not the time nor place to think about this.

"I'll take Ginny to the infirmary to check she's ok" Mia said, taking her friends hand and leading her out of the bathroom. She didn't want to explain about the chamber right now or what she'd seen.

Neither of the boys tried to stop her as they left the bathroom, though Ginny did give her an odd look. "I just don't want to talk about it right now" She shrugged before half smiling at her "And I doubt you do either" She added. The red shrugged knowing it was true. She didn't want to talk about what had happened with the diary yet. She just wanted a break. What had happened wasn't her best moment, and worst yet Harry had known it all and had been the one to save her. It was all so embarrassing.

"Fine"

They walked in silence after that. Neither wanting to go into their story of it. That was until they rounded a corner just outside of the hospital wing and Mia almost walked straight into the young blonde. She stumbled backwards slightly, caught off guard by his sudden show of affection as he hugged her,

"You're ok!"

"Mhm" She nodded smiling and moving out his embrace. She'd never seen Draco act this way before towards anyway, and judging by the look on Ginny's face, neither had she.

"I can take it from here" Ginny mumbled more to her best friend than the blonde before walking into the infirmary. She felt a little uncomfortable standing there while they talked, she knew Mia had become friends with the stuck up Malfoy.

They waited until Ginny went in and smiled at each other again,

"Don't go trying to save the day again, please Mi?" He asked, using his nickname for her, even though it was technically just her name with the last letter missing. It seemed more lazy than anything, but it still made her smile. He turned and walked back to the Slytherin common room as he waited for her reply, not even checking if she was following, he knew she would. Sighing at how predictable she was, Mia followed.

"Why do you care if I try to save the world?" She questioned raising an eyebrow. Sure, she was willing to believe people weren't who they first seemed to be, hey she'd never completely believed that considering what people first thought she was like. But it was still hard for her to believe Draco Malfoy could care. As if he could read her thoughts and wanted to prove otherwise, he shrugged off the question,

"I need someone to do my homework for me" he said, before flashing her a rare smile and walking into the dorm. Mia was about to protest that she never had done and never would 'do his homework' for him, but she realised it was pointless. 'Let him think what he likes' She said to herself, a smile on her features as she went into the common room. It was mostly empty as people were packing to return home for the summer, and Mia wondered about the year ahead. And also, how she would spend the summer holiday.

A/N: Ok, this is just a quick ending to Mia's first year. I wasn't going to write more for Mia until I'd finished another story I have on here, but a review from WishFishKitty made me look at the other reviews and reminded me that people had started to read this and it wouldn't be fair to leave it and not update. So I'll try to do a chapter for Tane and a chapter one here or something, so this wont be left for so long again without updating, but Tane is the main story I'm working on right now so that might get updated faster. Thankyou for being patient, and Thanks for reading, and to the people who do review, they are helpful and keep me writing Z-Nugget xx


	10. The summer

Mia's first summer after Hogwarts had to be her strangest by far. Normally she'd have spent the time in her room or pestering Tonks, but this year, she actually had somewhere to go. The first week she spent at home however, explaining to her family what had happened while she was at Hogwarts, and going over the events of the chamber of secrets. She also told them that she was going to spend the last 3 weeks of the holiday with Ginny and the Weasley's, which they all seemed happy about. Infact the only thing they didn't seem happy about was how she was spending the other two weeks. Tonks seemed to be the most disapproving of her spending times at the Malfoys, and she spent most of her time trying to talk her out of it. The worst conversation came while Mia was packing at the end of her first week,

"They're vile" Said the girl that she'd come to think of as her sister. She usually respected Tonks' views, but when it came to the young blonde, she just couldn't.

"Draco really isn't that bad you know" Mia said, whilst picking up a blue sweater and placing it into her case. She honestly had no idea what to take with her. She'd never stayed over at someone else's house for more than a few days, and the idea of meeting Draco's parents wasn't an enticing one. Making the right impression was quite high up one what she needed to do. True, she'd already met his father, and that hadn't exactly gone.. well. But that could always be changed. She hoped.

"I can't say I know the son, but Lucius and Narcissa are something else" Mia shrugged, if they really were that horrible, she'd just stay away from them. Lucius seemed to be an important man, and so it was unlikely he'd be in the house that much anyway. Taking Mia's emerald hair clip off of her dresser, Tonks raised an eyebrow,

"This is real" She said, and the younger girl nodded. She still wasn't one hundred percent sure who'd given it to her, but she could take a guess. Smiling at her sister, she took the clip and placed it in her hair, clipping back the green streak easily. "It's nice" she said after a while, admiring it slightly in Mia's hair. The black haired girl sighed, Tonks never made small talk unless she wanted something, and she wished she'd just get it over with. Luckily she seemed to take the hint and stood up, placing her hands behind her back like she did whenever she said something unpleasant,

"You aren't going"

Mia raised an eyebrow again, slightly confused. Tonks had never told her what to do before, and she had no right to start now. Draco was her friend, why couldn't she understand that?

"It's only for two weeks, then I'm going to Ginnys. Mom already said I could, and you can't change that" She couldn't understand why Tonks was acting like this. All this was coming from a person who went away on weeks on end to fight 'dangerous' people, yet she wasn't even allowed to go to her friends for 2 weeks. The pink haired woman seemed to realise the conversation was over and she wasn't getting anywhere, so turned and walked out of the room. Who the hell did she think she was?

Mia finished packing quicker than before, wanting to get out of the house before having to talk to Tonks again. Draco wasn't expecting her for another few hours, but she didn't think he'd mind. Lugging her case down the stairs, Mia said goodbye to her parents and smiled slightly at Tonks. Her sister wore an expression of disapproval, but she'd evidently realised there was nothing she could do about Mia going to Draco's.

Taking a hand full of floo powder in one hand, and her rather large case in the other, Mia stood in the fireplace smiling fully now at her family. Sure, they weren't actually related, but they'd looked after her and taken care of her since she was a baby, and for that, she'd always call them her family.

Throwing down the floo powder Mia shoot her eyes, she'd always hated travelling via the floo network, but apparently that was the only way to get to Draco's.

She wasn't sure what to expect when she opened her eyes, but it certainly wasn't Draco stood against the corner of a huge dinning room, an older white haired man that matched Draco's standing over him with his hand out. Mia's eyes widened as she stood in the fireplace, unsure if she could go back quietly enough not to be noticed. Maybe she could just blend in and look casual. What on earth was going on? Draco looked.. Scared? No. He didn't get scared, he was too cocky and arrogant for that. But that man towering over him sure didn't look nice, and she hoped that wasn't his father. Holding her breath, Mia reached for the floo powder beside her and was about to drop it when her suitcase fell over. Shutting her eyes again and making a face she took a step back pressing her back against the wall of the fireplace. Maybe if she stayed still they'd forget about the noise they just heard? Opening one of her eyes she found that wasn't true. The older male looked furious that there was an intruder seeing something that was clearly kept behind closed doors, and after giving Draco a warning, look his whole demeanour changed. Now that she'd seen his face, she realised it was Lucius, and he suddenly seemed a lot calmer and _pleasant_. Though Mia was sure he wasn't.

"You must be Mia" He said, showing he'd obviously forgotten or was pretending not to remember who she was. She gave a small nod, keeping her back pressed against the fireplace. Hopefully he wouldn't notice she was scared of him. He didn't bother to offer her his hand, or take her case, and instead gave Draco another vile look before heading out of the room. Mia stayed where she was until he was gone, when she turned her attention to Draco. He too looked a lot more relaxed, though there was still slight nervousness in his voice when he spoke,

"You're early" She nodded again. So maybe he did mind.. Lugging her case out of the fireplace, the younger teen walked over to him,

"I know, I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd mind I just-" She was about to start complaining about Tonks, but compared to Draco's father, her sister seemed lovely. "I'm sorry" she said again instead, hoping he wouldn't be too annoyed with her. The idea of having to go back home wasn't a nice one. She could see why he was annoyed with her witnessing that though, if she'd been in his position she would have been annoyed too. But it wasn't the other way around and she didn't like him being annoyed with her over something that wasn't her fault. Luckily he didn't appear to hold a grudge,

"Forget it, come on" He said, picking up her case for her and turning to the door. Mia hadn't put much thought into what would happen once she was here, and that included where she'd be sleeping. True, she'd stayed in Draco's private dorm whilst at school, but she doubted his parents would be ok with that whilst she was staying there.

Stepping out of the dinning room and into a huge hall, Mia suddenly realised how big the house must be. She knew the Malfoys had a lot of money, but this was.. Phenomenal. The blonde ascended up a fancy staircase, making easy work of her 'heavy' case. She really should try out for the quidditch team next year to get stronger. Maybe she could be beater. Mia couldn't help the smile that crept onto her features at the thought of her being a beater. Flying was second nature to her though, so it really wasn't that strange of a thought to try out. Maybe she would.

A door opening infront of her interrupted Mia's mind babble, and she realised she'd finished climbing the stairs and was standing on a landing. Good, those stairs were horrible even if they did look nice. Draco dropped off her case just inside the doorway, before pointing to another door down the hall,

"That's mine, come find me when you're unpacked" He said, and moved past her and down the hallway.

A/N: New chapter up, and within less than a week I think, hope it's ok. Thankyou to everyone who reviews and please keep reviewing, they do help. Z-Nugget xx


	11. Rooms

The room was huge. That was the only way to describe it. Huge. There was a four poster bed, a wardrobe that filled the whole of the far wall, a window over looking what appeared to be a hedge maze in biggest garden Mia had ever seen, and she suspected there was also a bathroom leading off from the door to her left. Even if she'd bought all of her clothes from home they wouldn't have filled up half of the wardrobe, and as she unpacked her clothes really did look dismal in comparison with the wooden monster.

Shrugging and closing the doors, she turned and walked towards the door, but stopped short of the handle. She'd only been unpacking for less than thirty minutes, and if she'd been in Draco's shoes with his father looking as angry at her as he had, she'd want to be alone a lot longer than that. Sighing and moving back towards the window, she took up a position on the windowsill and surveyed the grounds. The maze really did look amazing, but knowing her luck she'd get lost in it and never return. Wasn't that a cheerful thought. There also appeared to be two swimming pools, one covered by a glass ceiling presumably used in the winter, and an outside extravagant looking one for the summer months. How rich were these people..? Either way it didn't really matter, those swimming pools looked like a fun time.

There was only so much of staring out a window at gardens Mia could take though, and as she glanced at the marble clock on the wall she realised it'd been over 2 hours. Ofcourse she was bored, anyone would be bored after looking at grass for that long. Jumping down off the window sill she strolled to the door and this time managed to open the handle without getting distracted by a thought otherwise. The only problem came when trying to remember which room was Draco's. The older boy had pointed down the hall.. but there were a hell of a lot of doors down that hall. Now, she could either go try every door until she found the right one- which could mean bumping into someone she didn't want to behind one of those doors.. it was like an advent calendar or something. Or, she could try and remember harder which door had been pointed at. Going past the first two doors, she stopped infront of a slightly darker one, that seemed to have the word 'Dragon' written on it. Either there was going to be a dragon behind the door, or with how this house was seeming, that was quite possible, or Dragon was Latin for Draco. But she wasn't sure. Taking a chance, Mia knocked the door lightly, if it was a dragon hopefully it wouldn't disturb it, and waited impatiently outside. After several seconds of nothing happening, she knocked again, louder. Still nothing. This had to be the right room though, maybe he wasn't in it? Or maybe he was ignoring her? Frowning she tried the doorknob, grasping the cold iron in her fingers and turning it slowly. Well, it wasn't locked, as the door opened to reveal a room even larger than her own. What could anyone need a room this big for? Still frowning, but this time at the fact she'd been cheated out of a large room, the younger teenager entered searching around with her eyes for Draco.

She missed him at first, and only after her second sweep of the room did she notice the older boy sitting between the side of the king-sized bed and the wall. Honestly, she wasn't sure how to react. It was like the fireplace scene all over again, not something she should really be witnessing. But there was nothing that could be done now. So, either she could turn and try to escape back out of the room as quietly as possible, or walk over to Draco and snap him out of the world he appeared to be in. Maybe the decision she made was selfish and didn't want to go back to a boring room, or maybe it was because she did care for the boy infront of her, but Mia decided to go over to Draco and wedge herself between the gap in the wall and bed as he was. It wasn't exactly comfortable, and she had no idea how he'd managed to sit there for long, but she could manage a little while. He didn't speak, nor even look at her. But he acknowledged her presence by taking a hold of her small hand and entwining her fingers with his.

No words were spoken for a long time, as they both sat starring at the dark wall. Each was deep in thought, though it was unlikely about the same thing. Mia was contemplating about what it must be like for Draco to live here permanently. It was obvious he didn't have a good relationship with his father. Sure, she didn't always get on with her family, but they were always bearable. The tense atmosphere that she'd walked in on earlier… To live in a house like that would be horrific. Hopefully his mother was a nicer person, though to be married to that man it was unlikely.

A house elf opening the door and standing in the doorway interrupted the silence, and snapped Mia out of her internal babble. Why was she shocked there was an elf there, considering how rich the Malfoys were, there would undoubtedly be hundreds doing errands around the house.

" Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes" The small creature said before disappearing behind the door again, letting the room once more fall into silence. It wasn't awkward, but she took the information as her signal to leave a get ready. As she stood and dropped his hand, the blonde put up no resistance to keep her there or even glanced in her direction,

"I'll be back in 10 minutes" She said as she headed towards the door, though still didn't receive any reply.

Once she was back in her own room, Mia let out a small sigh about dinner. Maybe she should change, what were you meant to wear when eating with rich people anyway? She doubted they would all wear fancy clothing every evening. Draco in a suit.. now that was an interesting thought, though Mia soon sobered up as she skulked to the wardrobe. Jeans? No that was too casual she couldn't imagine them all wearing jeans she'd stick out too much. A skirt maybe? Or a dress? Honestly, she hadn't bought many skirts with her and all the ones she had weren't smart in the slightest. So that only left the dress option. Taking the two dresses she had packed with her out of the wardrobe, Mia lay them out on the bed. One was a short cream coloured summer's dress that reached just above her knee, with a pale pink floral pattern, it was cute but was it right for a meal? The other dress was the complete opposite. It was the same length, if slightly longer, in a deep red colour with black laced sleeves that reached her shoulders to keep it up. Well, that wasn't exactly a smart evening dress either. So which was she meant to go for?

A/N: Which do you think? ;) Review with your guess, and I'll get another chapter up soon hopefully Z-Nugget xx


	12. Dinner

The look on Draco's face as Mia ascended the stairs was enough to stop her mid step. He looked.. Mesmerised. And also appeared to have stopped breathing and looked slightly blue in the face. Luckily he soon recovered, giving a quick cough to try and cover up and looked down at the floor.

Originally she'd gone to his room after putting the red dress on and running a brush through her hair before tying it up into a messy but perfectly executed bun, only the older boy hadn't been in there. After checking his whole room atleast twice, Mia had given up and tried to find her way to the dinning room once more. Luckily Draco had just been standing at the bottom of the second staircase waiting.

"Hi" She smiled reaching the last step before moving beside him. There were now several doorways infront of them, and honestly she couldn't remember which way to the dinning room anymore. Taking her gaze from the house, she finally looked at the older boy properly, he seemed fine now. Ok, so he didn't look happy, but he rarely looked anything other than smug or bored. He also wasn't wearing a suit, which was a slight shame, it would've been nice to see him in a suit. Instead the blonde was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, making Mia feel rather over dressed.

"Maybe I should change" She said playing with the hem of the black lace. Why had she thought they would all be wearing smart clothes?

"No" Draco said quickly brushing his hand over hers before turning and walking towards one of the doors. "We don't have enough time.. And you look nice" He added at the end, as if an after thought. Atleast it wasn't an insult she thought running slightly to catch up with him.

She felt even further over dressed as they entered the dinning room. Lucius was sat at the head of the table, _obviously_, in black slacks and jacket, with a fowl look on his. Where as the woman that was sat beside him- who Mia guessed was Draco's mother looked happy. Well, content atleast. She looked rather pretty too, how on earth had Lucius managed to get her? She wasn't able to even look in the older mans direction as she took a seat next to Draco, so far all her experiences with him hadn't gone.. Well. No one said a word whilst starters were put out, and she got the impression this was how every meal went. Not exactly comfortable silence, but not an awkward conversation. But as soon as the main course was finished and house elves were taking it away, Draco's mother spoke up,

"You're the lovely girl we've been hearing so much about then?" She questioned, and Mia couldn't help but think 'we' actually meant just herself. Draco's relationship with his father didn't seem one where he talked about his friends. Never the less she gave a polite nod, just because his father was an arrogant ass, his mother seemed nice. But just what had her son said to her about Mia?

"What has Draco said about me Mrs Malfoy?" The younger girl questioned, a smile playing on her lips as she looked over at him. The look on his face however made both females in the room laugh,

"Smile darling," She said, commenting on the scowl covering her son's features, before looking to Mia, "And call me Narcissa" That made Lucius make a grunting sound, sort of like disapprovement, which in tern turned Draco's previous scowl to a look of hatred. Well wasn't this a loving family.. By the time desert was about to come, the atmosphere at become so tense everyone either wore a mask of hatred or unease.

"I- uhm. I'm not hungry, I think I'll pass on desert if that's ok?" She questioned looking over at Narcissa, still not being able to glance in the older mans general direction. The blonde woman gave a small nod, keeping her own eyes on the half-eaten desert. "Draco, could you show me back to my room please?" Ok, so honestly, she wouldn't have minded to eat that.. But It was obvious to anyone her friend was getting angrier by the second. Luckily he didn't need asking twice as he immediately stood and exited the room. "Thankyou for the dinner" Mia said quickly as she followed suit, closing the door behind herself.

Letting out a sigh of relief once it was over, she looked over at Draco. He still wore a look of anger, but it was definitely subsiding now he was out of the room.

"Your mother seems nice" She said quietly, linking her fingers within his. He made no reaction, like earlier, though turned to the right and headed up the stairs, back to where Mia presumed the rooms were. "Is that how it always is?" It probably wasn't polite to pry about his personal life with his family, but she couldn't help being curious. Talking seemed to calm him though, as there was no anger in the blondes' voice as he replied,

"Pretty much. Father's usually away on business though" Hopefully he'd go away on business for the rest of the time Mia was here..

A/N: Ok so I'm basically getting a chapter up every week, which isn't bad considering I've got to do one for another story aswell xD Thanks for reading, please review Z-Nugget xx


	13. Secrets

Mia found herself waking up reasonably early the next day, and as soon as she was washed and dressed made her way down the short hall to Draco's room. It was very unlikely that he'd be awake, she was always waking up before him at Hogwarts. And considering how long he spent on smoothing his hair out, he really should be the one getting up earlier. She had decided to go for a black skirt and deep red tank top, with a bikini underneath, in the hopes that he'd agree to go swimming in the pool Mia could see from her room.

She was sceptical whether she'd even get an answer when she knocked on the door, and was more than mildly surprised to see the platinum blonde boy opening it after several seconds, his hair and clothes as immaculate as usual.

"I thought you didn't do mornings?" She questioned raising an eyebrow.

"No, I don't do school. Morning's aren't that bad actually" Draco said, his imfamous smirk covering his features. Did he have to smirk about everything? It almost seemed like a permanent fixture on his face. Giving a small nod, she tried to decide how to tackle going swimming. Asking straight out he probably wouldn't agree, he never did anything other people wanted like that. Maybe she could be sneaky about it,

"I can see two swimming pools and a lake from my room…" Mia trailed off averting her eyes from the grey pair that were boring into hers. Ok, so maybe she wasn't going to be the next super spy…

"No." No? Why no? He couldn't say no, that wasn't fair. What was the point in having pools and lakes and not using them.

"You didn't even know what I was going to say" It was worth a slight protest atleast, even though she knew it wouldn't get her anywhere. And what else would she have said really? Let's go watch the water but not actually swim? No.

"I don't swim" How spoilt did you have to be to have pools and lakes and not even swim… "I will beat your ass at quidditch though" He added, almost as an after thought to distract her from swimming. Really, what was so bad with swimming? Mia loved it. But quidditch was good too. Truthfully, she had been thinking about trying out for the quidditch team this year, she'd always been able to beat Tonks at it as beater when she was younger. And that wasn't just because she'd been armed with a bat. Hopefully Draco had bats…

"Come on" Mia had only just noticed the hand waving infront of her face, forcing images of Draco as a pinata to disappear.

Well, trying to ride a broom in a skirt really wasn't easy. Infact trying to sit on a broom in a skirt wasn't an easy thing. Unfortunately Draco also didn't have bats, so it really wasn't as fun as it could have been, and when taking into account he had the faster broom, races weren't fair either.

"You're a cheat" She muttered landing on the floor and jumping off her broom. If she'd had the faster one he would've lost for sure. "I'm not protecting you from any bludgers when I get on the quidditch team for that" She said grinning, though the grin soon disappeared at the scoff the older boy gave. What was he scoffing about?

"You want to be on the quidditch team?" What was so wrong with that? She'd just proven how amazing she was. Ok, so not amazing, but better than half the people that were on the team last year. Scowling Mia put the broom on the floor and made her way back to the house, a smirking Draco in toe.

"Make me eat my words then, try out" Said the blonde, jogging slightly to catch up.

"I will" She replied, slowing slightly as she tried to ignore his smirk. It really could be annoying sometimes. His opposition with whether she'd get on the team or not was only spurring her on more to try out now, if she could prove Draco wrong it really was an added bonus.

As they walked back up to the house, Mia couldn't help but stop by the lake. Really, what was so bad about swimming? After quidditch is seemed like a great idea in her opinion, the perfect way to cool off. So without bothering to ask the older boys permission, she stippled down to her bikini and dived rather neatly into the ice cold water. Luckily the initial shock wore off after a several seconds, her body quickly adjusting.

Admittedly she'd expected Draco to be angry at her, considering how against he'd been against swimming. So she was mildly surprised to see his usual smirk still in place.

"Cold?" He questioned amusement in his voice as he moved closer to the edge. Really, why didn't he want to swim? Was it because he couldn't? Raising an eyebrow again, Mia swam over to the edge, resting her arms on the bank,

"Can't you swim?" She questioned back, the smirk on Draco's features faltering slightly. What was he hiding?

"I can. I just don't want to" Well then, with that out of the way, she saw nothing wrong with reaching out and grabbing the platinum blondes arm and giving a sharp tug. Under normal circumstances it wouldn't have worked. But when taking into account the fact he'd been completely off guard, the stubborn boy went tumbling over Mia and into the water. She couldn't help but giggle at the look on his face once he resurfaced looking like a drowned rat with his perfectly styled haired all flopped over his face.

"Sorry, you looked hot" She said between giggles, only Draco wasn't finding the funny side and instead was getting out of the lake, sitting on side gasping for air. He really did over exaggerate didn't he. Making her way to the edge again, Mia climbed out beside him, letting the sun start to dry her off. "Cheer up" That seemed to make him annoyed further. "What's wrong?" She really was glad the term 'if looks could kill' was just a saying.

"What's wrong, is we now have to wait outside until my clothes dry and we can go inside" He said, still managing to keep up a decent scowl. That didn't make sense, why didn't he just take the clothes off and go inside in boxers to get changed?

"If you took your clothes off they'd dry faster lying in the sun?" She raised an eyebrow again, starting to feel like she could make them do a dance the amount of times she were lowering and raising them. Draco shook his head hover, almost holding his top to himself. Come to think of it, she'd never seen him without a shirt on. He slept with one on, entered and exited the bathroom in one, basically everything he did involved wearing a top. What was he hiding?

"Why don't you take your top off?" She questioned again, determined to get to the bottom of this. He shouldn't have any secrets from here, especially considering she had none from him. Well, ok maybe a few… but that didn't mean he was allowed to have any.

"You don't want to know" Frowning Mia crawled over beside him,

"Obviously I do, or I wouldn't have asked" Considering he was meant to be smart, why was he trying to guess what she wanted to know. Draco just shook his head however crossing his arms over his chest. Well, that just made Mia more curious, which was never a good thing. "Take it off" She ordered, not caring how bossy she sounded as she attempted to pull it over his head. What she hadn't expected was how determined he would be to keep it on, or the force at which he'd push her way leaving her stumbling into the lake and taking a lung full of water. Ok, so it wasn't nice to be unexpectedly entered into water, she could see why he was so annoyed about that. But that was no way to react at having a shirt taken off. Spluttering, Mia made her way to the surface and out of the lake, not bothering to even look at the blonde boy as she went back up to the house. Only she didn't manage to get far before someone took a hold of her arm stopping her mid step. Pulling her arm free as she turned and crossing her arms, she once again raised an eyebrow. The smirk was completely gone off his features, and the serious look really didn't suit him, neither did what he was hiding.

"You really want to know?" The younger girl gave a small nod, she wasn't going to back down now. Though she wished she had afterwards. Giving a small sigh, Draco let go of her arm, pulling his shirt up over his head and dumping it on the floor. The frown on Mia's features grew as she observed his chest, it looked fine. Better than fine Infact. But she wasn't about to compliment him now. He seemed to realise she was confused however, and gave a small shrug, picking up the shirt and walking ahead of her towards the house. That was when she realised what he'd been hiding…

A/N: Mwahaha cliff-hanger xD I love leaving chapters on cliff hangers I really need to do it more. Anyway, review as always please! Z-Nugget xx


	14. Scars

"Ho-how?" She stammered not being able to form a proper sentence. She was too shocked. It took her several seconds to even realised the blonde was still walking to the house and hadn't stopped. "Draco!" She called not bothering to pick up her clothes as she ran after him. He couldn't reveal something like that and then just walk off. Unfortunately the closer Mia got, the worse it looked. "Stop, Draco please talk to me" Miraculously that did make him stop, and turn around, which in all honesty was a nicer sight than his back.

"Talk about what?" " He questioned, "You wanted to know, you were so determined to know. So I told you-"

"Showed me, actually" She said cutting him off, "You didn't tell me anything" Draco gave her a small shrug, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on her "Who did that?" She tried again, it definitely couldn't have been an accident. Who would do such a thing to anyone? Sure, Draco could be annoying and arrogant at ties, but nobody deserved that.

"Who do you think?" Well, personally Mia couldn't think of anyone that would do that. Only one person slightly came to mind, and even from she'd seen she didn't think he was capable of that...

"Your father?" Surely that wouldn't be right. It couldn't be. Unfortunately the older boy gave another shrug, shoving his hands into his damp jeans pockets. His next words making her want to shake some sense that he was clearly lacking into him,

"It's no big deal Mi" No big deal? Was he mad? ! Moving behind him and taking another look at his back, she came to the conclusion he was Infact mad. As she lightly ran her fingertips across the many scars covering from his shoulders to waist, her 'mad' theory was backed up when she noticed a fairly recent set. Honestly she didn't know which was worst. The fact someone would do such a thing to a child, or the fact it was still going on.

"When were these from?" She asked, brushing her hand over the new set. Draco winced slightly but didn't move away, pausing for a moment, thinking

"Around a week ago" Mia didn't understand how he could act so normal about it all. It was far beyond normal, or right, or even legal. Why hadn't he told someone? He'd seemed to have had enough of her questioned however, and started back towards the house. His clothes were no longer dripping, so it would be easy to get up to his room and lock the door from the outside world. Except Mia wasn't about to let him do that.

Quickly pulling on her skirt and top, the younger girl took off after him, once again catching up before he'd managed to reach the house. But before she was able to speak he'd already started,

"Just forget it. Please Mia." Reluctantly she gave a small nod. Honestly she didn't think she could ever 'just for it', but the look on Draco's face… He seemed so exasperated. And to think, the worst thing Mia hated about how she looked was that stupid green streak in her hair. Her frown deepened at how vain he must think she was.

As they walked into the house, the younger girl stopped dead as Narcissa and Lucius came around the corner and entered the kitchen. She wasn't sure how to react now with her new found information. Part of her wanted to use curses she shouldn't even know on him, but the look on his face as he noticed his son's back was on display made her decide otherwise. It was times like this she was glad the term 'if looks could kill' was only an expression.

"Hello Mrs. Malfoy" she said attempting to break the tension in the room without having to talk to Mr. Malfoy.

"Hello darling, and I've already told you to call me Narcissa." The younger girl gave a slight nod before continuing,

"We were just swimming in the lake, but I think we really need to go get change now" she offered the older woman a sweet smile, before walking past them. She vaguely heard Lucius' comment to his son as Draco followed her lead and left the room, though she didn't like it one bit.

"I'll deal with you later" Hopefully later would never come.

Mia waited until they were safely away from the kitchen, before falling into step with the older boy. It was suddenly so clear why he acted the way he did. And no one else- besides his parents obviously, seemed to know. But as they continued back to the bedrooms, she couldn't figure out one thing,

"Why doesn't your mother do anything about it?" A small frown spread over the platinum blondes features at her words,

"Like what?" Now it was time for Mia to frown. She hadn't thought it through really had she. What would Narcissa be able to do? She was his wife, but Mia doubted he listened to her, and it was obvious who was more powerful.

A/N: It might take me a little longer to get chapters up as I have G.C.S.E's coming up so revision is necessary, thanks for reading and please review Z-Nugget xx


	15. Fairness

Draco had shown her his scars, probably just to shut her up, but that wasn't the point. He'd trusted her with that. So it was only fair that she repay that trust.

Walking across the hall to the blondes' room, Mia knocked on the door.

_*Tap-TapTap*_

They- or rather she had come up with it so the older boy would know it was her. He seemed to answer quicker that way. Though it was probably helped by the fact Lucius was away on business. Luckily that also meant that he hadn't 'dealt with him later' yet. Hopefully he wasn't going to return in the next few weeks whilst she wouldn't be there.

"Draco?" She called quietly, after several seconds of waiting. He didn't normally take this long. What was he doing? But before she could come up with strange or scary scenarios in her head, the door opened, revealing the blonde stood, panting slightly and his shirt on backwards. He looked more annoyed than anything though. That was better than him being upset atleast.

"Wanna tell me what you're doing?" She questioned, stepping past him and into the dark room, not bothering to be invited in. He didn't answer at first, and it took all of Mia's will power not to ask the question five more times as she went and sat on the bed. Instead she settled for, "Draco?" Which managed to get his attention.

"Nothing" he said, sitting beside her, though after the look she gave him, which was very similar to 'don't give me that crap', he started talking again. "Just practising some magic" It was obvious he was attempting to be casual, like it was a dull spell he had been trying, but he wasn't fooling her.

"Show me" She instructed, and was honestly surprised when he didn't move. What was he hiding from her? Frowning she observed him and the bedroom. The room itself looked exactly the same from what she could remember. Well, except for the wand dropped on the floor infront of the mirror, and the mirror itself looked like it'd been pulled several feet away from the wall to give someone a better view of themselves. Looking back over at the blonde she once again noticed his backward shirt, and after several seconds managed to put two and two together,

"What were you doing Draco?" She asked again, slight worry evident in her voice.

That managed to do the trick though, as he pulled his shirt off again, his chest becoming a regular sight for her, one she really didn't mind, and crossed his arms.

"It's nothing bad, don't worry-" He added as the look on Mia's face turned to panic. How was she not meant to worry when it involved his back? "I was just trying to learn a concealment charm. It was tricky hiding it last year with quidditch practice." Ok, so that would explain it, and that would also explain the annoyed look he had been wearing if he couldn't get it to work too well. Then again, Mia knew all too well how hard a charm it was.

"I can help" she said, moving behind him on the bed and taking her phoenix tail feather wand out of her back pocket. It was still a shocking site, but luckily non of the cuts were fresh. Hopefully it'd stay that way, though she highly doubted it. "Stay still" she instructed,, not completely sure that it would work for his whole back. She was only used to covering a small section. Crossing her fingers and hoping for the best, Mia pointed her wand at the worst section of the scars and muttered, "Concelio", a small smile spreading over her face as most of he marks lessened, almost all of them disappearing, leaving marble smooth white skin infront of her. "It'll only last for a day or so, but I can redo it tomorrow if you like" Draco barely let her finish the sentence as he leapt off the bed and to the mirror, observing his back intently.

"How?" he asked, a mixture of amazement and confusion filling his voice, "How did you learn that?" well, it wasn't actually that tough a spell to do, keeping it going long enough to work was the hard part. And it probably helped that Tonks- a qualified aura had helped her learn it,

"Tonks taught me, she had too…" well, it was now or never, "Look," she whispered, holding out her left arm, palm up, and pointing her wand at her wrist. After several seconds black line started to appear, eventually tuning into a skull with a snake coming out of it. "They think Bellatrix gave it to me when I was born, kind of like to brand me for life. But they aren't sure. It's safer if I keep it hidden apparently". Glancing up at Draco, Mia's fears were confirmed by a look of shock and disgust on his face. Pointing her wand back at her wrist, and quickly muttering the concealment charm, the younger girl stood up off the bed and rushed to the door. Ofcourse he'd be disgusted, why had she ever thought otherwise? Scars on his back from Lucius were nothing like the dark mark from your mother.

Maybe she could leave for the Weasley's early, it was unlikely they'd complain if she turned up now. Reaching for the door handle, Mia sighed as she tried to come up with a way to explain why she would there earlier. Only she wouldn't need to. The blonde had taken hold of her wrist, her left wrist Infact, and was beginning to pull her away from the door. She waited until they were both back on the bed again, before crossing her legs and looking over at him, a huge question mark on her face.

"I didn't mean to look like that, I was just caught off guard. Like you were when you first saw my back." Ok, so that was true, but she'd atleast tried to hide her reaction, Draco had looked out right disgusted. As if reading her mind he answered this though, "It wasn't directed at you, it was that someone's done that to you already" He frowned as if thinking over what he was saying, but didn't bother to elaborate further. The fact that he'd said 'already' worried Mia slightly though, it seemed like he was saying that should happen, but not yet. That couldn't be right, right?

Frowning herself, the darker haired girl stood up and walked to do the door before pausing,

"You coming swimming?"

A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to get a new chapter up, revision and all that bleugh. Please review Z-Nugget xx


	16. Write to me

The rest of her time at the Malfoys past relatively easy, Lucius still hadn't returned, and Mia stayed hopeful that he'd be gone until Draco was at the safety of Hogwarts.

It was times like this she missed her brief experiences with Ted's muggle phones. They certainly made things easier for keeping in touch. Unfortunately the blonde didn't own one of those. Instead she had to opt for,

"Write to me?" It sounded like some old romance film, but for the next two weeks that would be the only way to know he was still all right. The blonde seemed more annoyed with being told to write than anything though and only gave a small half interested nod for an answer. Obviously his mind was elsewhere, and something was troubling him. That much was painfully obvious. But even with just his mother in the room along with them, Draco didn't seem like he wanted to tell Mia what. Hopefully he'd tell her in a letter, though taking into account that one of the twins could end up reading it, she doubted that. Maybe he could use code

Snapping out of the spy mission that was forming in her head, the younger girl glanced over at Narcissa.

"Thankyou for having me" she said, trying to sound as polite as possible. Just because she was married to an abusive lunatic and wouldn't do anything about it, that still didn't mean she wasn't a ice person. Narcissa offered her a smile in return before heading towards the door.

"You're welcome anytime darling". For some reason she doubted Lucius would say the same, and considering it was his house, it was a safe bet that she _wasn't_ welcome anytime.

Both teens, or almost teens in Mia's case, waited until the door had been shut before looking at each other.

"Remember, you promised to write" " she prompted yet again, this was one thin she would not let go of. If he didn't send her atleast one letter within the next two weeks so she knew he was ok, a string of howlers would be coming his way.

"Mi, I've survived thirteen years, why do you think something drastic will happen within the next few weeks?" Ok, so he had a point. But she wasn't about to admit that.

"Because I didn't know before now" she replied, pausing to pick up her bags. She wasn't sure whether to hug him or not. They had hugged before ofcourse, and that was more the blonde throwing himself on her. But he made no indication of showing that affection towards her right now. Apparently that was saved for escaping life-threatening situations. He did however, offer her his trademark smirk.

"The good old_, peaceful_ times" she heard once she'd dropped the floo powder, and said 'The Burrow', which unfortunately meant not being able to reply to his comment. Oh he just wait until she got her hands on a howler. That smirk would be wiped straight off his face.

A/N: This is a VERY short chapter, I know. But I didn't want to put this onto the end of the last chapter, or go onto the burrow at the end of this one. Because this one's so short the next will be probably be up within the next few days Please review, Z-Nugget xx


	17. Weasleys'

Mia hated travelling via the floo network. Then again, who would love getting a lung full of soot? When she'd finished her miniature coughing fit and the horrible disorientating feeling had gone off she opened her eyes and looked through at the new surroundings. She hadn't been to the burrow before, but Ginny had described it and it certainly was cosy. The kitchen appeared to be empty at first, with pots cleaning themselves in the sink and a small clock on the wall that seemed to have the Weasley's faces on each hand moving a lot faster than a normal clock. But as Mia stepped out of the fireplace and placed her bags on the floor she was attacked by a longhaired redhead who she hoped was Ginny.

"I need to breath" she muffled through the redness, hugging her friend back before stepping away and taking in fresh air. The youngest Weasley looked incredibly tanned, and that was Mia remember they'd all only just got back from their trip to Egypt. It probably was a good thing she hadn't needed to leave Draco's early, the house would've been empty.

"Sorry. How was it? Was it terrible? Did Malfoy treat you like a servant? Egypt was amazing! You should've come with us instead. Have you ever been to Egypt? You'd love it, better than staying at Malfoys. How bad was it?" Considering Ginny was so small, she could sure talk quickly when she wanted to. Mia shook her head trying to repeat everything the redhead had asked her in her own head and make sense of it all. Why had she had to ask everything so quickly?

"It was fine, good even.." For the most part, well, if you take out that Lucius is a vile man and shouldn't be allowed to have a child. But I can't tell you any of that, Mia thought before forcing a smile onto her features. Ginny seemed sceptical but returned the smile all the same. Just as she was about to bombard the darker haired girl with another set of questions more people entered the kitchen, and she'd never been so glad to see a set of twins. Hopefully they could distract Ginny long enough for her to forget about asking for details.

"You're alive!" Fred said, grinning as both boys walked over to her, stopping just before the fireplace that she'd managed to take a step out of.

"You aren't a slave!" George observed, feigning a look of shock and relief, which made all four laugh.

"She could be our slave.." Mia placed her hands on her hips at the thoughtful tone in the redheads' voice, and she shook her head at Fred's comment.

Rolling her eyes she couldn't help a small smile as she hugged each twin, Fred holding on slightly longer and having to be pried off by an annoyed younger ginger.

"You know, he really isn't that bad" 'especially if you knew everything I did' She added in her head. If anyone found out because of something she did, Draco might never say another word to her again. Both twins pulled a face,

"Whatever you say Lestrange" Fred said and they bot headed out of the room before Mia could remind them she _did _have a first name. Turning her attention back to Ginny, she raised an eyebrow.

"What?" It was obvious she still wanted to quiz her on every detail, but her best fried seemed to be choosing her words carefully.

"He really didn't treat you like a servant or something?" Mia sighed, exasperated. Was it really that hard to believe that Draco Malfoy was a decent person?

"You're starting to sound like your brothers" She commented, ignoring the dirty look the younger girl gave her. Luckily Mrs Weasley tottering into the kitchen diffused the little tension there was, and after the hello's and how are you's had once again been exchanged, Gin took her friends free hand – the other picking the bags back up, and led her up the two flights of stairs to the tiny bedroom. Making a mental note not to let Gin ever see her own, rather large bedroom,. Mia sat down on the mass of blankets. It was strange going from Draco's huge mansion to the Weasleys compact home. But that's definitely what it was, not a house. A home. She wasn't sure which she preferred. Possible her own that was in-between.

It didn't take them long to unpack Mia's things. Half of her clothes needed washing from Draco's, which Mrs Weasley was only too happy to do for her, then both girls headed outside to find the brooms. Ginny wanted to try out for the quidditch team aswell this year, so it only seemed logical they both got some practice in before hand.

"What position are you going for?" Mia questioned, not expecting that the smaller girl would want to be a beater like herself. The red heads small frame would be more suited for…

"Chaser" Mi gave a small nod in agreement, she had no idea if the Gryffindor team had a chaser already, but her friend was good, she'd definitely stand a good chance.

"Just watch out for any bludgers I send your way" She joked, before having to duck suddenly as two things flew extremely close to their heads.

"what the hell are you doing?" Ginny shouted at the two fast moving blurs of red hair on brooms. They both came to a stop hovering several feet from the floor.

"Don't you mean-" Started George,

"Watch out for the bludgers _we'll_ be sending your way?" Fred finished, grinning. Damn, she'd forgotten those two were the Gryffindor beaters. Surely they'd be more likely to watch her back than aim deadly balls at her.

"Get off the brooms, we need to practice" The younger redhead said, jumping up to push George sideways, who ended up hanging upside down. The twins exchanged a look that the raven-haired couldn't read.

"But we're gonna race. Hop on if you want" Fred said, as his brother righted himself and held his hand out to Gin. Mia frowned slightly, taking the several steps over to Fred and giving him a warning look. Gin seemed like she'd gone as a passenger on a broom quite a lot, but Mi had never even thought about it. Fred kept his 1000 watt smile on his features as he held out his own hand to her and helped pull the younger girl up behind him.

"If you try to make me fall, I swear I'll take you down with me" She threatened, wrapping her arms around the ginger's waist.

"Better hold on tight then" He said, and kicked off to hover next to his siblings. "Ready?" He asked, and Mia tightened her hold slightly, not wishing to fall at the first hurdle. The other brother gave a grinning nod, before both dived forward, managing to catch the girls off guard.

A small squeak left Mia's lips, causing the redhead infront of her to grin.

Admittedly, she loved the stunts the twins kept pulling, quick turns, diving downwards then back up at the last minute, but as soon as she jumped off the broom, she vowed to never back on another with Fred again in her life.

A/N: Hey guys, Ok firstly, I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated, I haven't had a clue what to write, I've become slightly obsessed with reading the noughts and cross books, and I've had to be revising, but hey, a new chapters up now. Secondly, I want to apologise for spelling mistakes. I write chapters up first in a book so I can do it at school etc, and then type it up. So as I rush when I type it up some words come out wrong, I'll try to proof read better though so that should stop that. Thirdly, I got a review saying they didn't know what was on Draco's back, and sorry if I haven't explained it well enough, 'As she lightly ran her fingertips across the many scars covering from his shoulders to waist,' I didn't really want to go into so much detail but basically Draco's got scars all down his back from Lucius over the years, idk I thought it would explain for his character and why he's so cold towards people normally. If there's anything else you don't understand just leave a review and I'll answer it in the next chapter Thanks for reading and to everyone who does review, wow this is long xD Z-Nugget xx


	18. Wall Flowers

The rest of Mia's weeks at the Weasley's was a lot more laid back than at the Malfoys. Infact the only downside was when it came to de-gnoming the garden. That had to be one of the worst things she'd ever had to do in her life, especially when one of the buggers bit her on the hand.

Luckily that only had to be done once, so most of the girls time was spent on the brooms attempting to avoid the twins and getting shouted at by Percy. That was a brother Mia hadn't met before, even though he was a prefect at Hogwarts. He seemed very… boring, nothing like the rest of his family. The only trait he seemed to share was the bright red hair.

Unfortunately that was something that the raven-haired girl didn't share, and she stuck out like a sore thumb as they all walked through the leaky cauldron to meet Harry. She still wasn't sure why they were all going, but Ginny seemed more than happy to be there. Mi still couldn't get her head around her best friends' fantasies of the 'chosen one'. Sure, she thought he was nice and all, and maybe if he'd saved her own life like he had Gin's, she'd be infatuated too, but right now it was just annoying.

"Do you think he'll be there already? Do you think he'll talk to me again? Do you think he'll like my hair?" Mia listened half-heartedly to her friend rattle on, giving the odd nod here and there. But there was only so much 'Harry Potter' she could take.

"You look fine, he'll think so, and after you've choked out a hi you'll be too nervous to talk again" She replied, before shoving her hands into her jean pockets and giving her a sideways glance. That had probably been a bit harsh, considering how much her friend hated how nervous she got around Harry, but there really was a limit. Ginny just shot her a glare however, and sped up her pace to walk beside her mother. 'Damn'. Frowning, Mia was about to follow and apologise, only to have two pairs of hands take a hold of her forearms to keep her in place.

"Let her go, trust us" Still frowning, she tried to struggle out of the hold the twins had her in. Trusting them was never a good option, but maybe they were right about this, just this once.

Taking a seat at the table beside a now happy Ginny, who had evidently forgotten Mia's earlier comment, both girls looked through Ron's old potions book about what they- or rather Ginny would be studying this year. The slightly older girl had already covered the topics the year before. They were both busy looking over love potions, so barely noticed Hermione come and join their group, but when Harry appeared at the top of the stairs, Ginny once again went motionless. Both Ron and Hermione each ran up to join him, and started going on about Egypt. She'd already heard it five times from the youngest Weasley, and several from the rest. Luckily Fred and George appearing made things more interesting,

"He hasn't been telling you about Egypt again?" George questioned standing behind Mia,

"Nah, he's only told the driver," Commented Fred

"The waitress," George this time corrected

"The day maid,"

"The night maid,"

"The block who fixed the toilet,"

"And that wizard from Belgium" Both girls tried not to laugh as they averted their eyes on the book again, though failed miserably. They did have a point, Ron had told _everyone_. Mi looked across at a rather angry looking Ron, attempting to stifle a giggle. The twins really were funny most of the time, though she'd probably get annoyed as Ginny did if they were her siblings.

"Where's Harry going?" She asked, as Mr Weasley walked over to the far corner with the dark haired male. Everyone around the table gave a shrug, either not caring enough to tell or clueless themselves. Turning sideways, she raised an eyebrow at Fred and George. It was more than unusual for them not to know things like this, and the longer she didn't know, the curiouser she became. Both mirrored a secret look, then turned their attention back to Mia.

"Sirius Black's escaped from Azkaban." Fred whispered, leaning closer to Mia than necessary. It was the quietest she'd ever heard him speak. "Never happened before" The curious look turned to a frown on her features, as she leaned back from the redhead thinking. Azkaban was meant to be… secure. The whole point was so prisoners couldn't get out. Not even for a relaxing weekend break on good behaviour. If Sirius Black could get out… Would that mean… As if voicing her thoughts, George grinned and said,

"Maybe your mother will drop by for a visit!" that earned him a glare from both girls, and an elbow in the ribs from Fred.

Mia had managed to get her parents to send all of the school things to her via the floo network – So with her now packed case, she made her way down to the platform 9 ¾. This time she managed not to stick out as much, considering Harry and Hermione were both walking with the Weasleys. Atleast she wasn't alone this year though, it made a nice change.

She hated having to go through the secret wall however, and couldn't understand how Mrs. Weasley's advise of 'Run if you're nervous' worked. Surely it was better to walk through? Slowly. Especially after Harry and Ron's disaster story from last year. Thankfully Ginny was there to hold her hand though, literally, and both girls walked through together.

The train looked exactly the same, big, red. Then again, what had she been expecting? Small and blue?

"See you later Lestrange" Fred said cheerfully, walking off down the train.

"Yeah, can't be ruining our reputation with a Slytherin" George chimed in, heading off after his brother. Did they seriously forget she had a first name so much? It was only three letters long, not that hard to remember! Maybe she could tattoo it on their foreheads… Shrugging the thought away, the older girl looked at her best friend.

"What about _your_ reputation?" She said, smiling at the redhead. She knew Ginny didn't care at all about how people saw her or what house they were in, but she still hadn't expected the answer she gave.

"I think it's your own that needs watching" Gin said pointing behind Mia. Curious, Mia turned around, noticing the platinum blonde boy a mile off and waving. He didn't wave back, obviously, and instead gave a small nod to follow him and got on the train. Scowling, she turned her attention back to Ginny.

"What am I, a lap dog?" The younger girl laughed slightly, causing her scowl to deepen. Draco couldn't just give her a nod and expect her to follow and be fine with it. Who did he think he was? What happened to the blonde she'd been with over the holidays?

"Have you got everything?" Mrs Weasley asked, putting a halt to Mia's mind babble. She gave a small nod and a sympathetic to Ginny, who was having to check off everything she'd got and hurried onto the train. Don't get her wrong, she did love Mrs Weasley, but sometimes she was just too much. That was probably where Ginny got it from.

Mia dragged her case along the carriage, paying little attention to anything going on until she reached the Slytherin end. At that point it became more like a game of where's Wally. Luckily Draco wasn't that hard to find, and it was also in an empty compartment. Well, excluding the two 'dogs'. Sliding the wooden door and stepping into the carriage, Mia blinked at the sight before her. On first glance she hadn't noticed Pansy, but the form pressed far too close to Draco's side now became much too clear.

"Move" Mia hissed in a rage that she wasn't even sure came from. What was so wrong with that wallflower siting besides him? It shouldn't bother her. It didn't. Oh who was she kidding, ofcourse it did. But this was ridiculous. She was acting like herself and Draco were… no. Now that was ridiculous. Though the crude smile Pansy gave the younger girls demand just seemed to make her anger rise. "Move" she hissed again, her eyes flickering darkly.

For whatever reason Draco seemed to finally notice Mia was there, and gave Pansy a hard shove to the right, forcing her to move off the seat. All of the anger seemed to flow out of her at that one action, and she took a seat next to the blonde feeling a lot calmer.

"Sorry" Draco whispered as he leant down close to her ear, causing a shiver to run down Mia's back at the feel of his breath on her neck. "She's like a leech, you know". That was putting it kindly. Giving a small nod, she sat back against the seat, starting to relax. She wanted to ask about his father, and whether he'd been home or not since she'd left. Hopefully not. But that couldn't be asked yet. Not with others in hearing distance.

Instead Draco spoke of the up coming year, adding in his usual complaints about Harry and Gryffindor's in general. It was all going fine, well, until the temperature plummeted and the lights started flickering. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Pansy let out a rather annoying girly scream, and Mia had the urge to slap her until she shut up. Luckily someone- she guessed Draco as he had had a book beside him, threw said book in Pansy's direction and she promptly shut up.

The train lurched and came to a sudden halt, and if it hadn't been for the blondes' arm shooting out infront of her Mia would've been sprawled out over the floor.

"Thanks" she whispered, noting in the back of her mind that his hand was still on her far side. Something in a black coat flew past the inside window, causing Mia to instinctively lean away and closer to Draco. What the hell was going on? Before she could dwell on it any further though, the lights suddenly came on again and the train started moving. The three sat opposite all looked slightly shaken, though Mi appeared to be the only one to have seen anything go past the window. Whatever it was. The rest of the journey seemed tame after that.

A/N: Hey guys I thought I could either upload two shortish chapters, and end it where the *'s were, or do a longer one in two sections, so I opted for this. Hope you don't mind. Thankyou so much to everyone who has reviewed, they're lovely to read and help me want to carry on writing this story. Don't stop! Z-Nugget xx


	19. Carriages and Boats

A/N: This is only a short chapter, more of a filler than anything, but hopefully they'll be a new one soon. Thanks for reading, please review Z-Nugget xx

They didn't use boats to get to the castle this year, apparently that was saved for the first years. Instead they travelled by horseless carriages, that for the life of her Mia couldn't figure out how it moved. Well, besides the most obvious thing of magic. But that seemed _too_ obvious.

There was only enough room for four people in the carriage, which was perfectly fine for Mia, but not Pansy apparently. Draco got in first, obviously, with his two goons following. That left the two girls standing outside glaring at each other.

"What's stopping us?" The blonde questioned from inside the carriage, sounding impatient. That was a very good question, what was keeping them so long? If Pansy would just say, take another carriage and go away, then nothing would be taking them. The only problem came that after several seconds of glaring at each other, the wallflower starting to step forward, only to be stopped by Draco, who was now also looking impatient, holding his hand out to Mia. Well, she didn't need to be told twice, and after offering the other girl a rather fake smile, the younger took Draco's hand and hopped up into the carriage.

The boats had been quite fun last year, what with the chance of falling in and watching others worry about getting wet, but the carriages were boring. Why couldn't everyone go on the boats every year? Then again, they're either need to get a lot more boats or it would take hours just to get everyone across. Not the mention the older kids would probably push each other in for the fun of it… Maybe the horseless carriages were a good idea after all.

"How traumatised were you after weeks of the Weasels?" The blonde asked not long after Mia had sat down. It gained snickers off the dogs, which she managed to silence with a glare. The Weasleys were nice people, atleast three of them were her friends and she wasn't about to let anyone say anything bad about them. She didn't care whether they had a feud or not.

"It was nice, _Ginny'_s parents are lovely" Ok, that was a low blow. The look that flickered across the blondes features proved that, and the raven haired girl instantly regretted it. That look of pain at mentioning how much nicer her friends' parents were to his really wasn't worth shutting him up.

"I'm sorry" She whispered, hoping the other two were too idiotic to understand anything. They probably didn't even hear her. She wanted to apologise for leaving Draco's all together in the holiday, whether Lucius had come back or not, it mustn't be nice to be in such a big house almost alone. But that would have to wait till later. Draco didn't reply however, and sat staring off out of the window. Mia really wished she could read minds right about now…

By the time the carriage stopped however, Draco's usual smirk was back in place, and grew even more as news of a dementor attack on the train (So that was what the black thing was!) and Harry fainting reached him.


	20. Dancing

Try as she might, Draco was still giving Mia a slight cold shoulder as they walked through the castle doors and made their way to the great hall. Admittedly it was nice to not have to wait outside for her name to be called this time, but it would've been nicer if the people she was walking with were talking to her. Instead however, the blonde was going on about Harry and trying to find out exactly what had happened on the train. Why did it matter to him so much? It was petty. Draco was being petty.

The great hall looked amazing, even better than last year. Candles lined the ceiling and it took the younger girl a second to remember it wasn't real. Maybe she'd be able to learn that at some point. It would be pretty cool to have a bedroom ceiling like that every night.

Taking a seat beside Draco, Mia directed her attention to the Gryffindor table behind her. Who would be stupid enough to put the two rival tables next to each other? Probably Filtches idea of a joke. She spotted Ginny several places down and gave a small wave, not wanting to attract too much attention, though that plan went out the window as the twins noticed her. Both gave huge over exaggerated displays of 'waving', which only stopped when professor Mcgonagall entered along with the first years. The sorting ceremony didn't hold any of her interest however, and instead she took to observing Draco. He didn't seem to be paying attention either, and when the singing started it looked like he was trying to cover up his ears in concentration. What the hell was he thinking about? As soon as the singing ended however, his whole mood seemed to change and whatever little world he'd been in was gone.

"Are you ok?" Mia questioned, though got a shrug for an answer. Apparently his mood hadn't changed that much. Giving up she turned her attention back to the front where Dumbledore was now stood, preparing to make his annual start of year speech.

"Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts," Several people clapped and cheered, though she wasn't one of them. "Now I'd like to say a few words before we all become to befuddled by our excellent feast. Firstly I'm pleased to welcome professor R.J Lupin; who's highly experienced as our defence against the dark arts teacher, good luck professor." Whilst the clapping sounded up again, Draco leant backwards to the Gryffindor table behind, his eyes fixed on Harry. What was he doing? Frowning the raven haired girl turned around aswell,

"Potter, Potter. Is it true you fainted," At the other side of Draco Crab did a very poor version of someone fainting. Thank goodness he didn't want to become an actor. "I mean you actually fainted?" The smirk was evident in the blondes voice, and she was happy it was back, but this wasn't fair to Harry. Though before she could say something Ron spoke up,

"Shove off Malfoy" He said with annoyance, forcing Harry the turn back towards his own group. Draco was still smirking to himself however as he too turned back to the table.

Dumbledore continued the rest of his speech, which stopped any attempt Mia was planning to start a conversation with the blonde, though he probably still wouldn't speak to anyway.

"And finally, our old care for magical creatures teacher has decided to take time off to spend time with their few limbs left, so I am pleased to announce professor rubeous Hagrid." Most of the Gryffindor and several from other houses stood up and clapped, though nowhere on the Slytherin table, including Mia dared. "And on a more serious note, as a request of the ministry of magic, Hogwarts will play host to the dementers of Azkaban, until Sirus Black is found. They will be placed at every entrance to the ground and whilst I'm insured that their presence wont interrupt day to day activities, dementers are dangerous creatures. It is not in their nature to be forgiving, so a word of warning to you all." No one clapped at this and everyone stayed silent until the food was magically placed on the tables. But Mia wasn't hungry.

Making their way back through the portrait hole, Mia too a look around the common room. It looked exactly the same, that unusual and slightly eerie green tinge still shinning around. The only difference was that first years were cluttering the place, making it harder for the dark haired girl to think. Pausing at the staircase entrances, she frowned. Where should she go? The girls dorm wouldn't be locked off to her anymore because it was the start of the year, but she doubted that would last long, and the atmosphere would be ridiculously uncomfortable. Well, that left camping out in the common room, or sharing with Draco again. That was providing he still had it and would let her ofcourse. And after the carriage incident… Well. Sleeping on the sofa was seeming more and more like the only option.

"What're you doing?" A voice questioned close behind her, sounding like water running over rocks. Giving a small shrug she turned to face Draco, glad he seemed to be speaking to her again. Even if he did look completely bored.

"Watching the earth go round?" She replied nothing more imaginative coming to mind. Atleast it sounded better than 'Well dear Draco, I don't quite know where I'm meant to sleep, will you let me share with you, your highness?' No. She wasn't about to say that.

"Well, when you're done," The blonde paused, side-stepping the younger girl and heading up the stairs, "I'll be in the shower." He continued, and disappeared. Was that her invitation to share the room again? Either that or he just felt like announcing his bathroom activities.

The room was just how she remembered, two four poster beds opposite each other, random books half-hearted stacked on the otherwise empty shelves, several articles of clothing cluttered the black otherwise immaculate carpet. And her own trunk was placed at the end of one of the beds. She was right to think it was an invitation then. Infact the only thing that seemed different was that music was playing all around the room. Since when did Draco listen to music? Then again, why wouldn't he? Frowning to herself, Mia shrugged her robe off onto the bed, before turning to face the bathroom door as it opened. Good timing, she thought.

"Music?" The younger questioned, taking a step away from the bed towards the damp haired blonde. It was strange seeing him with his normally perfectionately gelled back hair, messy and at odd angles. It suited him though. Maybe she could persuade him to keep it like that more often. He had black jeans on along with a deep blue, snugly fitted T-shirt, which along with matching his eyes perfectly, accentuated his muscles further. It was a rather distracting site.

"I like music" he said, silencing her internal babbling by taking a hold of her hand and spinning her around in circles.

"What're you doing?" She asked through laughter.

"Girls like spontaneous dancing, don't they?" Rolling her eyes Mia continued to twirl, stopping when Draco's hand went to lightly rest on her waist. Keeping a hold of his right hand, that had been twirling her, she put her other hand ontop of the blondes' shoulder. It was… nice.

"When did you learn to dance?" She said, hoping it wouldn't ruin the mood, but she couldn't help but being curious about it. The idea of the blonde taking ballroom lessons was something she couldn't help but query. To her surprise though, answered without stopping.

"Mother made me, when I was eleven. Something about it being 'proper'" he shrugged and both fell into a comfortable silence again, dancing slowly.

Unfortunately as soon as the song ended Draco let go and walked over to his bed, the small smile that had played on his lips now gone. How many mood swings did this boy have? It was like he had split personalities. After several seconds and no more music coming on, Mia followed, sitting down on the free side of the bed. She so desperately wanted to ask if anything – or anyone had happened when she'd left. But it didn't seem like the right time. Then again when was? Instead however, she vouched for another question,

"Why didn't you write to me?" It had been bugging her since they'd got onto the train. The blonde had promised to send her atleast one letter, but whilst she'd been staying with the Weasley's, Mia hadn't received anything.

"I did, I just never got to send it" There was an edge of bitterness to his voice now, that put the darker haired girl on edge herself. She'd thought he'd just forgotten, or hadn't been bothered. But there seemed to be more to it now. Without any warning however, and backing up Mia's theory of multiple personalities, Draco stood up and went to his mostly empty trunk. Unlike her, he'd seemed to have time to unpack. He rummaged around though hidden pockets for a while, and there were a lot of them, before turning and lying down on the bed, a letter held in one hand. Letting go of the paper, it floated down to land on the bed, and it took all of Mia's will power not to reach out and read it.

"You can," He muttered as if reading her mind. "It's yours." That confused her. Did he mean it was one of the three she'd written to him, or it was for her? Biting down on her bottom lip, she picked up the cream coloured paper and opened it. No, it was definitely Draco's flowing handwriting. Glancing away from the words and to the blonde, she was about to ask why he couldn't have sent it, but once again he seemed to read her thoughts.

"Just read it" He said, an arm coming up to lie across his eyes. Her eyes brows knitted together at that, though never the less she turned her attention back to the letter.

_**A/N: haha cliff-hanger! :P I guess you lot will just have to read the next chapter for the letter. It'll be up soon I promise. Thanks for reading, please review! Z-Nugget xx**_


	21. The Letter

'_Dear Mi,_

_You made me promise I'd do this, so here I am. You've only been gone two days, and I've already got one letter from you. Just how many am I going to end up with? I'm glad everything's ok, even if you are staying with… Them. I doubt I'll understand how you can even stand those people, you could've stayed at mine for the whole holiday. I wouldn't have minded, and no one would've stopped you._

_You asked if I was doing all right, but I think our terms of the word differ. Personally I'd say I've been fine all my life. You would disagree. So when I say I'm fine now, you won't think the same._

_Have you heard about Sirius Black? He escaped from Azkaban. Mother says he's related to us apparently, but he disgraced our family (she wont expand on how) and got burnt off the family tree. I'd quite like to see that tree but mother said she couldn't remember where it is. I think she can though. I'll try to work ok it. How useless are dementors? They can't even keep one person locked up. Just who else are they going to let escape?_

_I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to get this letter to you. I'll try my best to get to the owls, but the stupid house elves are on watch to keep me upstairs. Father came home and he was far from happy. I'm ok though. I always am._

_Love D x'_

Nothing had been written in obviously, and he hadn't even put his whole name. Probably in case Fred or George had read it. That was also probably why he hadn't slagged off the Weasleys too much. Well, and the fact that Mia would've been angry with him. But it was easy for her to read between the lines.

"He came back…" She said quietly, looking up from the letter. Draco still had his arm half covering his face. Did that mean he didn't want to talk? Then again, did he ever? Was it her fault Lucius had been angry with his son? Ofcourse it was! He'd already said he would, what was it? 'Deal with you later' after she'd seen his back. If she hadn't insisted- practically forced him Infact, nothing would have had to be 'dealt with' later. No, she had to stop telling herself that right now. It had been going on for years, years of which Mia hadn't even known the blonde. Lucius would have just found another reason to do it. And Mia feared there would always be another reason.

Putting the letter down on the small wooden bedside table, she turned onto her side to face the blonde. "Can I see?" she whispered, not having to expand any further.

"They're covered up" he said back, his voice sounding strange, though she wasn't quite sure how. Leaning over she took a hold of his arm and moved it away from his face. Draco didn't object, though his eyes were still shut. If only she could read minds. No, not minds. Just one mind. Draco's.

"We should sleep, we've got potions first thing tomorrow" though it was a subject Mia, like most Slytherin's quite enjoyed, she'd still rather not be half-asleep on the desk. Even she doubted she could get away with that. The blonde merely gave a nod however, his eyes still shut. Sighing, the younger started to sit up and get off the bed, but was stopped by a hand enclosing around her own.

"Stay. Please" He mumbled quietly, already sounding half-asleep. Frowning at the idea of having to sleep in her school clothes however, Mia began to protest, but she didn't want to pull her hand out of Draco's.

"I can't, I need to get changed, and you can't sleep in jeans that would be uncomfortable." To that he just shrugged again, though he did let go of her hand.

"Come back after" He said, and the vulnerability in his voice was something she could never argue with.

Standing up, the raven haired girl went over to her trunk and pulled out a pair of pyjamas; a black short sleeved top with green stars all over it, and matching shorts., before heading into the bathroom to change.

She emerged, several minutes later, and after dumping her clothes on her bed, Mia picked up a blanket Andromeda had given her and lay back down next to Draco. He was half lying under the green duvet, and had evidently taken up her advise as his jeans and T-shirt were in a heap at the bottom of the bed. Had he never heard of folding his clothes? Ofcourse not.

Pulling the blanket over herself, the younger tried to keep her attention off of his well muscled chest- that was now on full display, and took a hold of his hand again. He didn't respond at first and she thought she'd already fallen asleep, but after several seconds he gave a light squeeze. Smiling slightly, Mia turned to face him, before letting her own eyes shut and waiting for sleep to take her.

**A/N: There you go **** I had some lovely reviews on the last chapter, thank you so much they were so nice to read. Please keep them coming, it's nice to know what you think and that you want to find out what happens. The next chapter will be up soon Z-Nugget xx**


	22. Lessons

**A/N: I think I already put this at the start but people are asking so I'll just clear it all up. Bellatrix isn't related to the Black family, so neither is Mia to Draco.**

Waking up besides another figure was strange. It was even stranger however for that figure to be Draco.

Sitting up slowly, Mia started to detach her hand from his, which somehow had stayed joined during the night, without waking him. Though she failed when the blondes currently grey looking eyes opened, revealing a sleepy, but awake Draco.

"Potions" he grumbled, sliding out of the covers and heading into the bathroom. Giving a nod and feeling just as exhilarated at the prospect of potions as he seemed, she turned just in time to see the blondes back disappearing behind the door. Well, he really had mastered that spell.

The whole day went fairly smoothly, and considering their second lesson had been defence against the dark arts with Gryffindor, Draco having behaved himself truly was an accomplishment. The teacher, professor Lupin, seemed decent, though he did have an odd air about him. Atleast he was better than Lockheart.

"Quidditch practice is in two weeks for Slytherin" Mia mused beside Ginny. It had been one of the first things she'd tried to find out at the start of school. Both girls were sat beside each other in the Gryffindor common room, they'd met up after their last lessons and that had been the first place they'd thought of to do their homework together. Several of the older students were throwing them filthy looks, but most were used to seeing the darker haired girl from last year and didn't comment.

"Ours is next week" Ginny replied, the little red head was already scathing about some of her homework, and though Quidditch was something she was determined to do, it was definitely coming second right now.

"Do you want some help?" She enquired, placing her own completed homework down and leaning towards her friend. It was sometimes hard to remember that even though they were the same age, Mia had already completed the work last year. Shaking her head and causing red wisps to cover her eyes, Ginny went back into a world of her own. Well, they weren't going to get much talking done then. Mumbling a goodbye, and receiving a vacant wave for a reply, the darker haired girl stood up and left the common room. It was pointless sitting there and being stared at.

Heading down the corridor Mia went into her own world. Everything seemed to be coming up so quickly. Her birthday, which always seemed to get forgotten about as it was so close to the start of term, Quidditch try outs, trips to Hogsmede, that she was now old enough to go on, and the start of all her other lessons. Letting out a long sigh, she attempted to think of how to fit all that in, though came up blank.

"Lestrange!" someone called out, and before she could object, said person or persons rather,, picked her up by the arms and carried backwards down an emptier corridor.

"Can I help you?" she said through a scowl at the two red heads. They both gave synchronised shrugs, before holding out a box to her. Her scowl changed to a frown as she took the box. Was it going to explode? Anything was possible from those two.

"Want to expand on what it is?" the redheads shrugged again, before Fred, or at least the one she thought was Fred started grinning. Not that that was any more comforting.

"It's an early birthday present,"

"Created by yours truly" George carried on. Could neither of them finish their own sentences?

"What is it?" The younger girl asked, giving the box a small shake.

"NO!" both twins yelled, one set of hands moving on top of hers to stop them. Well, she almost dropped it at that.

"Ok, ok don't shake, I get it" Mia said before raising an eyebrow, "Will the contents get me a lifetime of detentions if found by a teacher?" the boys shared a look that once again made Mia want to drop the box and run.

"Not a lifetime" Fred answered, before removing his hands from hers and the box, and both twins walked off.

"Wonderful" the darker haired muttered sarcastically, before giving up on the idea of dumping the 'present' and walked back to the Slytherin common room, trying to keep her arms as still as possible.

Luckily she managed to make it through the portrait and up the stairs without bumping into any teachers or anything else for that matter. The whole place seemed semi- deserted, abut nothing special was going on. Giving an inward shrug, not actually trusting herself to move her arms up and down however, she went into the bedroom and carefully placed the box down beside her bed.

Draco wasn't back yet, and if he saw the box without in there, no doubt it would get opened. She couldn't risk the damage that could cause. So, scowling at having to stay in the room, Mia picked up one of her text books and sat down, cross-legged on her bed, ready to pass the several hours until the blondes return.

**A/N: Hmm, not the most amazing chapter I know. Sorry xD The next one will be better. Please review, they're lovely to read Z-Nugget xx**


	23. It's killed me'

The first thing Draco did when he entered the room was try to open the box. Though he was quickly put off when Mia told him it was a present from the twins. Then he wanted to throw it out the door.

"You know", Draco started the next morning whilst eyeing the present, "I'll let you open what I've got you now if you get rid of that thing" Mia raised an eyebrow pretending to think it over. By the look the blonde was giving the box, he must think something was going to jump out and eat him. Then again, that was still a possibility.

"I think I can wait 'till tomorrow" she replied finally, placing several books into her purple backpack and heading towards the door. She wasn't too keen on having a care of magical creatures' book in there though, it was one of the only books that hadn't been opened. Mainly because she didn't know how without losing her hand. "Are you coming?" The darker haired called, pausing from the doorway. This time Draco seemed to actually be thinking something over, before shaking his head.

"I'll meet you after breakfast, I have to do something first". Shrugging, Mia walked out of the door, though not before calling behind her to stay away from the twins present. Admittedly, she was curious as to what he was doing, but there was no point in staying behind when she would rather be having something to eat. And anyway, she could always ask later.

Fortunately the Slytherin she noticed a small bouncing red head as she left the dungeons, glad to be out of artificial light, and ran to catch up, happy not to look like a loner.

"Gin!" Mia called, slowing down to fall into step with her friend.

"Isn't that a muggle drink?" The red head mused, smiling. It most likely was, though considering the darker haired actually lived with a muggle, that was something she should probably have known. Ginny began stalking about Lavender, and whom she liked. Boys seemed to take up 50% of that girls mind. Rather than having to listen to it though, Mia blocked it out and concentrated on swerving past first years. They seemed to like to stop mid walk and look around every five seconds, and if they carried on they were going end up falling down like dominoes.

"What do you think?" The red head asked, causing a surge of panic to go through the older girl. Damn it she should've been listening. What should she say? Yes? No? Green? Frowning, she bit down on her lip trying to think of an answer that wouldn't get her in trouble, though was saved as they entered the great hall. She'd never been so happy for house separation.

"I'll see you later!" She called whist heading off to sit by some third years, unfortunately Pansy was one of them though.

"Where's Draco?" The brunette asked before Mia even had chance to sit down. Offering a small shrug and biting back the urge to say 'avoiding you', she turned to smile at her.

"Busy"

"What have you done with him?" _Locked him in a basement? _What kind of stupid question was that? Smile disappearing the younger girl raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't done anything with him- how on earth would I have done something with him?" To that however, Pansy stood up and flounced off, obviously not interested in anybody else.

Draco stuck to his word and didn't show up all through breakfast, and even missed their first lesson of transfiguration. He was going to get into trouble for that one. Infact, Mia didn't see the blonde until just before care of magical creatures started, when she rounded on him.

"Where the hell have you been? You missed transfiguration so I had to tell Mcgonagall you weren't feeling well and were stopping at the hospital wing. But if she finds out I lied we'll both be in trouble." She hissed storming over to stand beside him. They were all outside, along with the Gryffindor's waiting for Hagrid to arrive. Draco was lounging next to a set of rocks, fleeted either side by the dogs and Blaize. Luckily Pansy was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she'd gone off searching for him. The blonde opened his mouth to answer,, though shut it again as something else caught his attention, a smirk then taking place over his features. Raising an eyebrow Mia turned around to see what had distracted him, though wasn't at all surprised it see Harry had just appeared. She turned around just in time to see all four boys sharing a look, though before she could question it Hagrid appeared and interrupted them,

"Right you lot, less chattering, and open your books to page 49" Everyone began taking out their books, though very few, including Mia were able to open them.

"And exactly how do we do that?" Draco asked in a sarcastic tone, causing the younger girl to shoot a frown at him. He really didn't have to be so rude did he? Hagrid didn't seem fazed though, and replied,

"Just stroke the spine ofcourse." Before heading off further into the woods.

Finally able to open her own book, Mia flicked through it, though her attention was taken away by Neville, who went running past with his book trying to eat him. Compared to that, hers seemed tame.

"I think they're funny" Hermione said, looking at her own book adoringly.

"Oh yeah, terribly funny, really witty, god this place has gone to the dogs. Wait until my father his Dumbledore's got this oaf teaching classes" Draco replied, his smirk changed to a scowl. Admittedly, Mia did half agree about the books part, but the rest Draco may aswell have been talking out of his arse. Maybe he really did have split personalities.

Unfortunately the blondes comments hadn't gone down too well with Harry, as the boy who lived started to make his way towards them not look happy at all,

"Shut up Malfoy" Did no one around here believe in first names? Draco didn't seem to care which name they used though,

"Ooh" he smirked, taking several steps backwards, but the smirk disappeared as he looked just behind Harry's head at the sky, a strange look going over his face. He gave a wink at Mia, then pointed and shouted, "Dementor dementor!" Well, ofcourse everyone turned to look behind the dark haired boy, including Mia, though she was almost sure she wouldn't see anything. And no one did. Atleast not until they all turned back around to find out why he'd shouted that. All four boys had pulled their hoods up and were waving their arms around pretending to be, what she guessed were dementers – though failed as each boy burst out laughing. It had had the desired affect though, considering Harry had looked genuinely scared. Now however, he just looked angry again. Before he could do anything though, Hermione pulled him away.

"Draco" The younger girl scolded, moving beside her friend. He really didn't help himself sometimes. No wonder Ginny couldn't stand him. He shrugged her annoyance off though, and after giving her a smirk, went to join the rest of the group where a huge bird thing had appeared. Only it wasn't a bird. It had wings, but also four legs, and looked reasonably comfortable strutting around on the floor.

"Exactly what is that?" Ron asked her thoughts aloud.

"That Ron, is a hippogriff. The first thing you want to know is they are extremely proud, you do not want to insult one. Now who would like to come say hello?" Wow, that sounded like Draco. Mia grinned sideways at the blonde beside her, trying to keep a straight face at her internal comment. Everyone had taken a step backwards after Hagrid's question however, the younger girl getting her arm yanked back quickly by the blonde so she wasn't left standing at the front with Harry. Maybe she _had_ wanted to say hello!

"Well done harry," Hagrid said, turning his attention back to the class. "Now, let him come to you. Bow to him, and see if he bows back. If he does you can touch him." She could've done that perfectly well! Frowning slightly Mia watched as Harry bowed, though was glad she had been taken back as the Hippogriff reared up and opened its wings.

"This should be interesting" A voice said beside her, earning him a light elbow to the ribs. Luckily the Hippogriff bowed back, which apparently was a good sign,

"Go pat him Harry don't be shy." Wouldn't anyone be shy in that situation? Unfortunately, before she could stop him Draco pushed his way to the front eating an apple and laughing. Where on earth had he gotten that apple? Rolling her eyes, and not bothered enough to go to the blondes side, Mia watched as Harry patted the animal, then Hagrid placed him ontop of it and both flew off. Apparently those wings worked just aswell as the legs.

Hagrid began talking about Hippogriffs and what they ate whilst Harry and Buckbeak were gone, but barely anyone seemed to be listening. All their eyes were trained on the sky, and when the bird and Harry landed back down most rushed forward cheering. Except for Draco.

"Oh please" The blonde said, an unimpressed look covering his features as he walked infront of Buckbeak, "Yeah, you're not dangerous at all are you, you great ugly brute." Mia wanted to close her eyes and stop watching, it was obvious something was going to go wrong. And something did. The Hippogriff reared up again, but this time it actually managed to do some damage. Only it had been at Draco, getting kicked in the arm and falling back screaming.

Oh god oh god oh god

Mia ran forwards, kneeling beside the blonde and trying to get a look at his arm.

"Ah it's killed me, it's killed me." A sigh of relief flooded over the raven haired girl as she heard his tone. Sure, his arm probably hurt, but his acting on being 'killed' was terrible.

"Hagrid, you have to get him to the infirmary" Hermione said after several seconds of nobody else moving. Giving a nod the half-giant bent down and picked the blonde up carrying him off, leaving the rest of his class standing around. Mia looked from Buckbeak to Draco's head bobbing off back into the school, barely managing to hear his feeble threat of,

"You're gonna regret this, and you're bloody chicken" Well, atleast her tale to Mcgonagall about Draco being in the infirmary wasn't a complete lie anymore.

**A/N: Longish chapter for a change :P As a Thankyou for the nice reviews. Please keep them coming! I'll keep updating sooner for them :P Deal? Enjoy, Z-Nugget xx**


	24. Traumatic Ordeal

The whole class waited several minutes before dispersing, all taking a wide birth of the now calm looking Buckbeak. Mia made her way back to the school at a fast jog, taking the front steps two at a time, though stopped short in the entrance hall. At best Draco had just bruised his arm, at worst- broken it. Either way with the whining he would no doubt do, they'd keep him for a few hours. He'd also certainly moan more if he had to stay in his uniform and she was sure there was no way the blonde would wear one of those hospital night-gowns. That would be a funny sight though. Smiling at the image, the raven-haired girl started to run down the corridors leading to the dungeon, and from there the Slytherin common room. Several people she went past were already talking about an 'animal attack; wrong news sure did travel fast.

"Miss Lestrange, just where are you running to?" a silky voice asked when she was several feat from the portrait. Frowning, she stopped mid stride and turned around. Did it really inconvenience Snape that much that he felt the need to question her? It sure inconvenienced her.

"I was getting some clothes for Draco. He's in the hospital wing – I think" she added onto the end, not actually knowing if Hagrid had taken him there or just dumped his body in a ditch. Hopefully not the second.

"Ah, yes Mr Malfoy shall be in shortly to talk to Dumbledore about what happened to his son" that made Mia's blood run cold. Obviously he wasn't happy when someone else hurt his son.

"I- need to- get clothes" The third year stammered, taking several steps backwards, before turning and heading through the portrait before Snape could say otherwise. She didn't stop to talk to anyone in the common room- though many were throwing questions at her about Draco. How was she meant to know if he was alright? Most had seen the same thing she had. Infact, she only stopped when she was safely in her bedroom, and then it was to slide down the door and sit at the bottom.

She stayed like that for almost an hour, but after that her legs started to go numb. So standing up, and doing a slight dance to return feeling, Mia finally went over to the far wardrobe Draco had claimed as his own. She pulled out a pair of his jeans aswell as a red T-shirt, before quickly emptying the contence of her backpack from books and stuff in her friends clothes in. She'd already wasted too much time, and with that in mind the darker haired girl took off up to the hospital wing.

Thankfully she didn't run into Snape again, or anyone else for that matter. Most people were in classes- a place she should probably be. Trying not to focus on the trouble she was bound to get in, Mia took the last few steps at a leap and went into the infirmary.

It wasn't hard to find Draco. He was on the bed furthest away from the office- a smart move by Madam Pomfry, considering the amount he was complaining. Unfortunately as he spotted Mia the complaining seemed to double.

"Mia! Finally. I could've died! Where have you been? Madam Pomfry forced me to have wile drinks. She doesn't even know what she's doing. What took you so long?" Raising an eyebrow, the younger girl sat down besides the bed.

"Are you done?" She asked, wondering if she should tune out whilst he continued. Draco seemed to think it over before shrugging w, wincing at the movement, and giving a small nod.

"I thought you might like these" she said, taking the blondes clothes out of her bag and tossing them at him. He nodded again at that, though this time also mumbled a

"Thanks" but otherwise he didn't move. After several seconds Mia caught on.

"I am _not_ going to dress you" she said, attempting to hold into all rational thoughts.

"I can't though" Draco replied sounding genuinely puzzled. Ok, so in all honesty she had no idea how he was meant to undo his shirt and trousers with just one hand and get them off, but she was sure he could cope. He'd have to.

Though the look he was giving off was saying otherwise.

"I am not going to dress you" she repeated, in an attempt to put her foot down. He wasn't a baby. He was a boy. A man even. And men did not need to be dressed. Then again, with the amount of house elves the Maloys had, Draco was probably used to being dressed without a broken arm. Though after several more seconds she finally gave in.

Trying to get the blondes' shirt off his arm without pulling it was a challenge, and having to help him in and out of a pair of trousers was even awkwarder, but for several other reasons. It was certainly not an experience she wanted to participate in again any time soon. Once complete tough, Draco seeming mildly happier, Mia sat down on the unoccupied side of the bed.

"Your dad's coming…" she said quietly, hating to have to be the one to ell him. Although by the look of disdain that had suddenly taken up residence on his face, that wasn't news.

"He's already here. Went straight to Dumbledore" Wow, what a caring man. Not. The younger girl opened her mouth to voice her opinion, though thought better of it and closed it again. It would do no use, and knowing her brilliant luck of today, Lucius would probably be standing right behind her as she said it.

"Any idea when you're allowed to leave here?" She asked instead. Even though it was seeming less and less likely that Lucius would visit his son in the infirmary, it still seemed only logical to Mia that Draco would be safer back in his dorm room.

"Around an hour Madam Pomfry said. But what does she know"

"Probably a hell of a lot more than you about healing?" The raven- haired girl said back, a smile now on her face at being able to leave reasonably soon.

They sat and talked for the next hour waiting, and when Madam Pomfry did finally come, Mia was only too glad to be able to stop looking over her shoulder and leave with Draco. Several Slytherin's stopped them on their way down to the dungeons to ask how he was, unfortunately the blonde was doing 'Just well enough' to recount his 'traumatic' ordeal, and the others were happy to offer gruesome ways to kill Buckbeak, which Mia chose not to listen to.

It wasn't until they were both back in their bedroom however, that Mia finally felt safe enough to let her guard down and collapsed back onto her bed. Vaguely she heard Draco do the same and mumble a 'Thanks," and as she looked over she managed to catch a rare smile flickering across the blondes lips that made her feel slightly warm inside.

**A/N: New chapter **** Thanks for reading and to everyone's who reviewed, they're so nice to read. Keep them coming Z-Nugget xx**


	25. Birthday Surprises Part 1

Mia awoke to the sound of a loud crash, closely followed by a string of swearing. Frowning and rubbing her eyes she sat up.

"What's going on?" Draco was stood, half dressed, infront of his wardrobe, a pile of clothes and hangers lying at his feet.

"Slipped" he mumbled, bending down and trying to pick everything up with one hand. Even though Madam Pomfry had old him just to rest his arm, he seemed very attached to that sling.

Climbing out of bed Mia walked over and helped scoop up the clothes.

"How long are you going to milk this for?" The blonde seemed to think it over for several seconds whilst taking out his school shirt from the pile.

"Oi, I'm really in pain!"

"Yeah, ofcourse you are" the younger girl replied, rolling her eyes. This was probably going to go on for the next few days. Or atleast until he got bored. Shrugging to herself, the raven-haired girl headed off towards the bathroom, though was stopped halfway by Draco's complaining. Raising an eyebrow, she turned around in time to see him attempting to button up his shirt one-handed. Grinning wickedly, she continued to the bathroom. He could struggle alone.

She left the bathroom to the sight f Draco sat on her bed, staring at the twins' box still beside it, his shirt still undone.

"Are you sure you can't just throw that thing out now?" The younger girl scowled, though went to sit beside him, leaning over and buttoning his shirt up for him. She's already managed to get herself dressed whilst in the bathroom, but Draco was still a long way off.

"You're like a toddler, and when I open their present, I'm keeping it" She said, though wasn't sure whether she'd live to regret that later.

Shrugging it off, the blonde batted away her hand that had been hovering over his now done up shirt.

"You better keep this atleast" he said, reaching into his trouser pocket and pulling out a smallish box. It was wrapped in black smooth paper, and a deep green ribbon that seemed to be holding it all together. He handed it to her, and Mia was sure he seemed nervous. Since when did Draco Malfoy get nervous? Smiling encouragingly, she undid the green ribbon and peeled off the paper. It revealed a box, that she hoped didn't have hundreds of more boxes inside it. Glancing sideways, the blonde still looked nervous, and it was starting to rub off onto her.

Slowly opening the box, her breath caught in her throat at the sight of it.

**A/N: Ok, it's short and there is a reason for that. I want to know what you think it is, and what you think Fred and George have gotten her. So leave comments in the reviews! Because it's so short, I'll upload the other half of this chapter tomorrow, but I want your guesses! The best ones will have a mention in the second half.**


	26. Birthday Surprises Part 2

**A/N: Ok, as promised here's part two of the chapter **

A beautiful silver looking- though with Draco it was probably white gold or platinum bracelet looked back up at her. Taking it out of the box, Mia tried to remember to breathe again, but was stopped short as a dangling little charm caught her eye. Ofcourse, it was a charm bracelet. For a second there she'd thought the box had been something else. How stupid. Putting her attention back onto the bracelet, the dark-haired girl smiled. There was only one charm on it, but t the price it must have cost, thinking there would be more was just wishful thinking. The charm in question was a tiny dragon, about the size of her fingernail, though the detailing on it as amazing.

"Touch it" Draco instructed, speaking finally. Hesitantly, Mia reached out to pet the dragon, almost dropping the bracelet as its wings moved and a small wisp of smoke left its mouth.

"That's amazing" she whispered, unclasping the chain and positioning it around her left wrist. "Could you?" She asked, smiling as he did it up one handed.

It fit perfectly, with the little charm dangling down.

"Do you like it?" the blonde asked after several seconds, still keeping his hand over hers. The nervousness was still there in his voice, though he was trying to cover it now. "Because if not, I'll sell it". To answer that, Mia clutched her hand to her chest, keeping a tight hold of it.

"Mine" she said childishly, before lowering her arm and grinning. "I love it, thank you". The smile Draco gave to that was even more beautiful than the bracelet though, his electric blue eyes shining for several seconds, before covering them with heavy black lashes and getting up off the bed to finish getting dressed.

Leaning across her bed, Mia gingerly picked up the twins present from the floor. It still felt the same as before, and no noise could be heard from it. Hopefully that meant it wasn't an animal… or a bomb. Frowning at the prospect, the third year began to unwrap it, revealing a box. It was atleast double the size of what Draco's had been- speaking of, the blonde had moved to the opposite side of the room and was half crouched behind a cupboard, his wand out.

"What are you expecting to happen?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Something that's charmed to attack you will jump out?" Draco looked at her, his face now seeming completely serious.

"Yes". Rolling her eyes, the younger girl pulled the lid of the box, revealing… Another box. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion at that, and she reached in to take that top off. The only draw back was that yet another box was underneath. Oh, she could see where this was- or rather not going. Scowling, the younger girl sat for ten minutes unloading boxes, and only stopped when Draco's comment about missing breakfast if they didn't leave now caught her attention.

Sighing, she put the boxes reasonably neatly in a pile and grabbed her robe, before heading out the door infront of the blonde.

Several people wished her a happy birthday as they walked up to the great hall, though many were more interested in Draco's arm, which according to him, he could've lost. Who knew? Resisting the urge to set all of the girls that were cooing over the 'injured' Slytherin right, Mia paused as she entered the great-hall. The ceiling was currently enchanted to look like the morning sky outside, a pale blue with several fluffy looking clouds, though the raven-haired girl barely had chance to notice.

Three redheaded Gryffindor's and about a dozen others from her year and Ginny's were all beckoning her over. Considering two of them were Fred and George, nothing good could come of this. Then again, she had a bone to pick with them about the boxes that were now cluttering her room. Before she could open her mouth however, the entire group burst into a rendition of 'Happy Birthday; which managed to draw the attention of the rest of the hall. Turning a bright shade of pink and desperately wishing an invisibility spell would come to mind, the mortified third year rushed over to a spare seat beside Ginny, attempting to shush them all before the twins could break out 'for she's a jolly good fellow'.

"Happy Birthday!" Ginny repeated, hugging her friend the second she'd sat down, then thrusting a present under her nose. Shrugging off the feeling of being watched, Mia opened the pink wrapped present, which currently matched her face, a smile appearing on her features as she saw the C.D of the wicked sisters she'd been given.

"Thankyou" she said, moving it to one side to hug her once more. Looking around however, a frown took over. Something was suddenly missing. No, someone. Someones.

"Where have your brothers gone?" The little redhead seemed just as confused at that, as she too began to search for them. After several seconds though, she pointed at two redheads that seemed to be trying to escape. Standing up, the Slytherin jumped over the bench seat to catch the backs of theirs collars.

"Do you want to explain the boxes that have taken up residence in my room?" She questioned, letting go of them and folding her arms. To answer, both smiled guiltily, before shrugging.

"We thought Malfoy would try to open it" Fred started, again with the last name!

"And he'd be there for hours with the boxes" George this time, continued.

"So, you'd catch him in the act," Fred.

"And jinx him into oblivion" George finished, though both suddenly looked very happy with themselves at their master plan.

Before Mia could open her mouth to tell them what they could do with the boxes though, Fred pulled out a present from his robe and handed it over.

"If this is boxes-" she warned, beginning to unwrap it. Luckily it wasn't. well, just one box. But inside was an assortment of strange looking sweets.

"They're prototypes mainly, tested on first years so should be safe."

"Give them to people you don't like, the green ones we call puking pasties" Mia wrinkled her nose at the name slightly, making a mental note not to eat any of them.

"And make sure the pink ones only go to people you like, they have love potions inside. Don't worry, we wrote down instructions for each one" She gave a small nod, placing the lid back ontop and half-wishing she'd just accepted the boxes. Atleast they weren't potentially lethal.

"Thank you. I think" The raven-haired girl smiled anyway, placing the box down on the table and boxing over to sit beside Ginny again.

**A/N: There you go **** And thank you to xXMiss Alec VolturiXx for guessing what the present was. Please keep reviewing, I love reading them! Z-Nugget xx**


	27. Catch Me?

The next week went smoothly compared to the first few days. The only interesting thing was quidditch try outs, and that was certainly eventful.

Mia was one of the only girls there, and besides Draco, she didn't really know anyone else. The blonde went first, for seeker again. Admittedly, he probably wouldn't have gotten on the team last year if he hadn't bribed them all with brooms. But now, he'd really improved over the summer. So it was no surprise when he beat the other two trying out and got the place.

"Well done Blondie" The raven haired girl congratulated, though earned a scowl for the nickname.

"Shut it. When you get hit in the head with a bludger, I'm not catching you." Ignoring him, Mia waited for her name to be called. Five other people were trying out for beaters in total, and the third year was definitely the smallest. Why on earth she had her heart set on beater was anyone's guess. If anything, seeker would've been better. But that would just be too easy.

Luckily, all but two other people trying out were terrible, which left the little raven-haired girl, and two tall, bulky, 6th year boys. Ok, maybe that wasn't so lucky. Picking up her broom, and trying to steady her nerves, Mia began to walk over to Jacob- the menacing looking captain. Draco didn't offer any words of encouragement, and as she grabbed a bat and took off, the older teen stood watching.

"Alright," Jacob said, once the three competitors were hovering in the air. "First one to knock the other two off gets through. Then the other two repeat. Simple. Got it?" Simple? Relatively. Barbaric? Certainly. They were Slytherin's though.

All three nodded, which was enough for a grinning captain to open the case, and release two angry looking bludgers. _Oh joy_. Mia had practiced relentlessly the past few weeks, getting anyone and everyone to throw balls at her whilst she hit them with the beater bat. It was hard work, especially when it had been Crabbe or Goyle throwing the balls. They may have been idiots, but they were strong idiots. Luckily, both balls went speeding towards the darker haired 6th year, who only managed to hit one before the other pounded into his stomach. He went flying backwards with the force of it, though Mia wasn't able to see what happened next, as the one he'd hit had been in her direction. This was it, time to prove her worth. Gripping the bat tighter she waited until the last possible second, swinging with as much force as possible to send it straight back at the dark haired Slytherin. He'd recovered somehow from the first blow, but this time didn't stand a chance, getting knocked off sideways and flailing to the ground. Mia watched him fall, landing ungracefully with a very rude word aimed at her. She might have felt bad for him if he hadn't felt the need to insult her. If anything it just made her want to laugh at him, which turned out not to be the best idea. He was getting up and brushing himself down for possible injuries- he'd been closest to the ground, at least 20ft lower than Mia and the other Slytherin trying out so seemed to be fine. But a fall from the height the other two were at, now that wouldn't be good. Because she'd been looking down at her fallen comrade she hadn't noticed the other Slytherin zooming after the nearest bludger and hitting it in her direction. Mia turned in time to see it, inches from her face and quickly pulled her broom up to avoid getting a broken nose. In hindsight she really should have pushed the broom down into a nose dive, then the bludger would have missed and gone over her head. Instead it hit her squarely in the shoulder- still better than the face and sent her over the broom, hurtling towards the ground. In the back of her mind she was vaguely aware of someone shouting her name. Well, this really wasn't going well. She was going to die from quidditch try outs. What a thing to be remembered for! And to top it all off, a very girly scream was coming from her lips. It died in her throat though, when impact didn't come.

Opening her eyes, the third year sucked in a breath. She was floating about an inch off the ground. Ok, what the hell had happened? Last time she checked it wasn't possible to fly, or float for that matter. Frowning, Mia looked sideways and realised what had happened. Draco was stood at the front of the crowd of Slytherin's, his arm outstretched, and wand pointing towards her. Relief flooded his features, quickly dispersing to a raised eyebrow and a slight picture of boredom.

"I thought you said you wouldn't catch me?" Mia questioned, grinning before the spell wore off and she hit the floor. Although the 1ft drop was much more favourable than what it could have been. The blonde merely rolled his eyes and lowered his wand, not bothering to reply. Shrugging at him Mia stood up rolling her shoulders and picked up her broom- which miraculously wasn't broken, getting back on. "Thanks".

The second half went fairly easier after that. Dark haired boy wasn't as steady as he'd hit his head and went hurtling towards the floor as he tried to duck from an oncoming bludger. Either way, the third year got the position as beater along with light haired 6th year that she didn't know the name of still. All in all, it went pretty well.

A/N: Alright so I rewrote this... Still not certain about it but it's better than it was.


	28. Immature

After the almost fatal quidditch tryouts, the first match against Hufflepuff was a walk in the park- whilst trying to dodge magical balls. They beat the bumblebee look-a-likes though, even if Draco did take his time about catching the snitch.

"Next time," the blonde started up again, as they walked up to Defence Against the Dark Arts. "Watch what you're doing" he was still going on about nearly getting hit in the head by a bludger like it was all Mia's fault; it wasn't like she'd charmed it to go to him. Though that was really sounding tempting right now.

"Is it worth reminding you, I'm not your body guard, and there was also another beater!" it had been over two days and he still wouldn't let it go. Not bothering to wait for the obviously sarcastic reply, the younger ran on ahead, managing to grab Ginny before she went off down another corridor. Unfortunately the little redhead hadn't made it onto the quidditch team and the disappointment still showed on her face.

"You'll get it next year, you just need ore practice" she encouraged, though Ginny just shrugged it off.

"I hope so. I didn't think-" Whatever the second year was going to say got cut off by Draco shouting Mia's name however.

"I'm sorry," the darker haired teen apologised, turning to catch u and call over her shoulder. "Tell me later!"

Professor Lupin hadn't arrived yet when everyone else went in. That was unusual. Taking a seat beside Draco, Mia frowned at the sling he was putting on. Considering he'd managed to play quidditch pretty well, there was no way he needed that. She didn't bother to argue against it though, there was no point.

"Going for the pity vote now?" She teased nudging his 'injury' slightly harder than necessary.

"Father says to wear it, it'll help with the case" He answered trying to sound as casual as possible, and it would've worked if the darker haired girl didn't know him so well. Before she could say anything though the classroom door opened and Snape walked in. Well, that silenced everyone.

The potions teacher wore his usual outfit of black slacks and matching robe, and as he walked to the front of the room all the boards snapped over the windows with loud thudding sounds, making several people jump. Mia frowned slightly as she watched him, hating how he acted so superior to everyone else.

"Turn to page 394" Snape said whilst pulling down the white projector screen and heading back towards the back of the class where the projector itself was sat. Trying to ignore him walking past her, the younger girl opened her book, flicking through several pages before stopping at werewolves. That didn't make sense, they weren't studying werewolves yet?

"Excuse me sir, where's Professor Lupin?" Harry questioned, which was probably what the rest of the class were thinking as well. Lupin seemed to love teaching, especially when Harry was in the class, there would have to be a good reason to keep him from doing it.

"That's not really your concern, is it Potter?" Snape replied, his tone almost a sneer, "I suppose I can say that your teacher finds himself unable to teach at this time. Page 394" Well, that didn't fill anyone in the room with much confidence, but worrying about what had happened with their teacher wouldn't do them any good right now. So, with that in mind Mia began to read the words in front of her, still not sure if werewolves was right. As if hearing her thoughts though, Hermione voiced them out loud,

"But sir, we're not meant to start nocturnal beasts for weeks-" The raven haired girl tuned out at that. Whenever the muggleborn started going on about something it could last the whole lesson, not that she minded when Snape was the teacher. Then again, that normally only lasted several minutes with Gryffindor losing half their house points.

Hermione and Snape's 'discussion' lasted less than a minute, a new record with silencing Hermione, and Gryffindor lost 15 points quite easily. She couldn't help smile at that even though it was wrong, hey she wanted to win the house cup just like everyone else, and that would definitely help that cause. The rest of the lesson was pretty boring, though Draco's 'subtle' "Hoooowl" when the word werewolf was mentioned did catch her attention.

"Thank you Mr Malfoy" Was all Snape had to say on his comment, which was probably favouritism. But again, Mia wasn't going to comment.

"Immature?" She questioned, smiling at the blonde next to her, admittedly she had laughed along with the others. He only gave a shrug as an answer though, not even bothering to smile back, his interest now on a piece of paper that he was drawing something on. Leaning over his shoulder slightly, she managed to see a boy that looked rather like Harry on a broom, which then changed to be struck by lightning. How lovely. "Immature" She repeated again, this time not even bothering to question it as Draco paper airplaned it over to the boy who lived.

**A/N: I know I haven't updated in a while, I'm sorry I've been really busy (And gotten into Role-play again on bebo... I don't suppose any of you know what that is?) Unfortunately, I'm going on holiday in a few days for 2-4 weeks, so updating will be difficult as there's no internet where I'm going. I will try to get at least one chapter up though I promise. Thank you to everyone who's reading and reviewed, keep them coming for this chapter! Z-Nugget xx**


	29. Embracing the Rain

_**A/N**__: Oh my gosh. Ok, for the 4__th__ time in this story I shall remind you all, __**Bellatrix**__ is __NOT NOT __**NOT**____related to the __**Black family**__. Narcissa is not her sister; neither is she related to Mia! Draco and Mia Not related. The fact that she lives with Tonks is a coincidence purely because she was the first person that came to my mind when I was around 12 and started writing this story! Is that really so hard to remember? If one more person questions it in comments I will have a breakdown! Bellatrix, Mia, Not related to the Black family! Most people seem to have grasp the concept, Got it? Please get it!_

Draco had gotten one thing right in the note to Harry. The weather was horrible. After waking up late thanks to the blonde turning off her alarm, and having to rush to Snapes office to hand in the Defence Against the Dark Arts homework, Mia then had to run to the entrance to the Slytherin viewing area for quidditch where she'd agreed to meet Draco. She hadn't really wanted to go and watch the match very much, but saying to him, especially when he was desperate to see Harry get injured; however unlikely it was, was not an easy thing.

"Finally" The older of the two exclaimed as Mia jogged to a stop beside him. For once he wasn't flanked by the dogs outside of the common room, and it certainly made a nice change to see him waiting alone. She'd gone for light blue jeans and a grey top that morning, that had now both gone several shades darker thanks to the rain. Luckily the hood of her dark green- semi waterproof coat seemed to be working at least. Draco on the other hand appeared to be embracing the rain, the slightly frayed leather jacket he wore not even bothered to be done up. He did look good with his hair soaked to his head though.

"Some of us bothered to give in the Defence Against the Dark Arts assignments" She commented, knowing full well that he hadn't even given it a second thought and wouldn't get in trouble for it. Even within the house there was favouritism, especially when Slytherin's prince was concerned. Giving a shrug for a response, the blonde motioned his arm sideways, waiting for her to go up the steps first before following.

The weather seemed to worsen as the match commenced, both thunder and lightning making appearances and causing Mia to almost have three heart attacks as Fred and George made a game of trying to get hit by it.

"Idiots" She muttered, as one of them narrowly dodged the fork lightning to his right. At least he hadn't tried to hit it with his bat like the other had.

"Couldn't agree more" Draco said beside her, almost having to shout just for her to be able to hear. Taking her eyes from the match, the younger Slytherin scowled up at the other. She still hadn't figured out why he hated the Weasley's so much, but she wasn't going to be stupid enough to retaliate to his comments as she had in the coach. Nothing was worth the look he'd given after that.

The scowl didn't seem to be working tough; as when he did finally pull his currently grey eyes- which Mia mentally noted matched the storm perfectly, all he did was smirk. Her scowl deepening, the teenager crossed her arms over her chest. That smirk could be so irritating, and he knew it. Thankfully, it vanished as he leant closer and pressed his lips against her ear.

"You look cute like that" he whispered, his voice tickling her neck. Before she could respond however, Draco had turned back to the match, unfortunately the damned smirk still on his features. Blinking several times, Mia shook her own head. Unbelievable, she thought whilst turning back to the pitch herself.

Nothing that interesting had happened, well except for Harry disappearing somewhere. The third year next to her really wasn't pleased about that. He truly was hoping the boy who lived wouldn't live through this. That was seeming very likely several minutes later, when the dark haired boy came falling from the sky, only not going splat on the ground thanks to Dumbledore casting a spell to slow him down. Ignoring the string of wear words parting Draco's lips at Harry being saved, Mia looked up at the now almost black sky herself. The storm wouldn't have made him fall surely? So, what? A frown flickered across her features as she leant over the trailing trying to get a better look. There didn't appear to be anything there, if anything the only change was the weather getting colder still.

"What's happening?" She questioned, noticing that the swearing beside her had come to halt and instead the blonde had reached for her hand. Had he seem something she hadn't? "Dra-" she started, but was stopped mid word as a flash of light erupted into the sky driving back the oncoming darkness.

"Come on" he said beside her, keeping a firm grip on her hand as he headed down the steps and away from the stadium, his interest in the match all but gone.

_A/N: :D I didn't leave it that long between chapters! Thank you to everyone who's been reviewing, keep them coming I love reading them. Another chapter will be up soon Z-Nugget xx_


	30. Snowballs

It had been dementors at the match, Mia had found out several hours later, and part of her was definitely glad Draco had pulled her away.

The weather continued to get worse over the next month, with the thunder and lightning changing to snow; the third year wasn't sure which she preferred when walking to the school gate. She'd just come from seeing Ginny, who was too bogged down with homework to join her and get some early Christmas shopping in Hogsmede done. So instead the older girl had opted for going with Draco and his two followers, her mind currently inventing ways to get rid of them.

"Lestrange". A voice called behind her, quickly followed by something slightly solid and cold hitting her back. Scowling, she crouched down, scooping up her own snow ball and turning to face the voice. She'd recognised it immediately, even if they hadn't called her by her last name.

"What?" She asked, whilst aiming the snowball at the twin she hoped was Fred and hitting him on the chest.

"I was just going to tell you, you had snow on your back" the other redhead said, a grin on his features that his brother had been hit instead.

"And _I_ was just admiring you from behind" Said the one she'd hit with the snowball, finalising that it was definitely Fred. Rolling her eyes Mia picked up another clump of snow, this time separating it in two and throwing them at both boys. A laugh parted her lips as the two balls hit their targets faces perfectly, though it died shortly after when someone new shouted her name.

"Mia!" The voice shouted again sounding very annoyed. Turning to face it, she understood the angered looks that had appeared on the twins faces.

"What's wrong? I said I'd meet you at the gate just before one" she said, glancing at the watch on her wrist to check she wasn't late.

"Come on" Draco gave an answer, though it was really more of a command, whilst walking over to her, his hand clamping around her wrist and giving a firm pull. The younger girl flashed him a confused look, though put up no resistance.

"I'll catch up with you guys later/" she called over her shoulder to the twins- who were both shooting death glares at the blonde beside her.

Draco kept a hold of her wrist until they'd reached the gate where Crabbe and Goyle were stood talking. Both promptly shut up when they caught sight of their 'leader', but as soon as he'd released Mia's wrist, she stopped walking.

"Why did you do that? You knew I was coming" she said, slightly annoyed herself. She'd been having a good time in that mini snowball fight, why had he come over and dragged her off?

"You shouldn't be seen with them like that"

"Like what?"

"At all" He answered, messing with the dark hat on his head. Personally Mia thought the ear flaps hanging down were a little too much, and she much preferred her purple beanie. It also did a decent job of hiding that damned green streak.

"Why?" She asked again, truly perplexed. What was wrong with having a snowball fight with the twins? Sure they could be annoying sometimes, but it wasn't hurting anyone.

"You're one of my best friends Mia, you can't be seen with people like that" oh, so that was it. Why did it always have to come down to his reputation? Then again, she could take a guess that it had more to do with his father than anything. Well, she couldn't be mad at him for that. But there was no way she'd stop being friends with people for him.

The four walked in mostly silence after that, with Draco giving the occasional command, and the raven haired girls mind elsewhere. It didn't seem right that she'd ended up with a nice loving family when in reality her mother was probably on the same level as his father. If things had been reversed, would she be like the blonde now? Hating everything and everyone? Shuddering at the thought, she looked beside at the uninterested look covering Draco's features as they passed several shops, and decided a family like that would make anyone bitter.

"Do you think I need a better broom? He asked aloud, pausing in front of one of the shops. It was a stupid question really, considering he still had the current fasted broom and the fire bolt didn't come out for several more months. But with the first match against Gryffindor in a few weeks, Mia could understand his paranoia.

"You'll do fine" She reassured, offering the older boy a small smile. She wasn't all that sure that he would beat Harry, but there was no point in voicing that.

"'Course I will" Slytherin's prince said, carrying on to the next shop.

Only Mia ended up buying something, and even then it was only a few small present for Ginny and the twins. She couldn't get Draco his present whilst he was with her, and though she toyed with the idea of getting the other two dog collars again, she reframed. Instead the four headed towards the shrieking shack, Draco wanting to show her something. Whatever that something was, didn't get shown however, as two other forms were stood by the fence.

"Well well, look who's here" The blonde began before Mia could stop him. "You two shopping for your new dream home? Bit grand for you isn't it Weaslebee? Don't your family sleep in one room?"

"Draco!" The younger Slytherin scolded, finally having enough She'd told him enough times not to say things like that, yet he never seemed to pay any attention.

"Shut your mouth Malfoy" Ron said, his right hand balling up into a fist, and for once she had to agree with him.

"Ooh, not very friendly. Boys, I think it's time we teach Weaslebee to respect his superiors" Mia put her head in her hands at that, not wishing to look at him when he was acting like this. It was ridiculous. The sound of laughter made her look up however, and she waited for Hermione to speak,

"I hope you don't mean you" She spat, though her tone caused a flicker of anger to rise in the younger girl.

"How dare you talk to me, filthy little mudblood" This time Mia bit her lip, feeling no urgency to reprimand the blonde, Hermione had brought that one on herself.

Before either Gryffindor could respond though, a snowball came flying out of nowhere and hit Draco on the shoulder. All four Slytherin's turned to see who had thrown it, but couldn't see anyone.

"Who was that?" He shouted to the air and getting more snowballs flying over as a response. Mia ducked, moving away from the other three, and noticed that non were being directed at her. "Don't stand there, do something" He shouted again as one hit him in the face. Crabbe opened his mouth to respond, but was stopped when his trousers fell down. A laugh left her lips at the sight, and another followed when Goyle's hat was pulled down over his eyes and he was spun around by his scarf. She had a reasonable guess as to who was doing it all thanks to something the twins had told her before, but there was no point in saying yet, it was still fun to watch. At least until Draco tripped over Crabbe and was pulled by his legs towards the shrieking shack.

"Oi!" She shouted, throwing a snowball at the invisible force. The other three didn't seem to realise it hit the shape of a person, and when it dropped Draco's legs, all three ran off back the way they'd come.

Mia stood up from the position she'd been sitting in on the snow, brushing herself off and took off after them, knowing they wouldn't be hard to catch up with considering Crabbe and Goyle's stamina.

**A/N: Phew this chapter annoyed me. I wrote two alternatives for it and finally decided on Draco dragging Mia off from the twins. I thought it would show more of his possessiveness possibly. Anyway, chapters aren't getting put up as quickly, i know, i'm sorry. But i'm starting college, so stories can't be my top priority. The chapters WILL keep coming though I promise. They'll come quicker if I get lovely reviews *Hint hint*. Z-Nugget xx**


	31. Truce!

The weather was slightly better than the last quidditch match, and as Mia walked out onto the pitch behind Draco, she was more than grateful for the earlier reassurance of no dementors showing up.

"Remember your job" she heard him say over his shoulder, and resisted the urge to hit him with a bat.

"I'm not your body guard" She stated, mounting her broom along with the rest of the Slytherin team. If he thought the younger girl was just going to fly beside him keeping away every bludger, he was mistaken. Though with Fred and George on the other team, maybe he could use the protection.

Baring that in mind, Mia took off, flying around the pitch several times before hovering in her starting position.

"Welcome to this exciting match of Gryffindor vs Slytherin!" Lee Jordan's voice boomed from the speakers. "Now, Madam Hooch is about ready to start" a smallish women, with blonde short cropped hair walked into the middle of the pitch, the brown ball box carried in her arms.

"I want a clean match" she instructed, bending down to unlock the box. "Ready?" She asked each captain, receiving a nod from Oliver Wood, and a grunt from Jacob, before opening the lid and throwing up the quaffle. Mia didn't get to see who caught it, and she always blocked out Lee when playing. Instead she sped off after Draco, saving him from a sneaky bludger that had been aimed at his head by one of the twins. The blonde didn't bother to thank her, and flew off in another direction after Harry. Rolling her eyes, the third year continued searching out the bludgers getting aimed at her team, and sent most back at any near Gryffindor.

She saw a pattern appearing halfway through the match that made her smile. Each time a bludger was about to hit her from behind, Fred would appear and aim it in the other direction. It sure made things easier not having to look after herself.

Snow started to fall near the end of the match, and by the time Harry had caught the snitch, the ground was covered. Draco was one of the first off his broom, a sulky expression on his face, shortly followed by Jacob who was hurling abuse at the younger. Mia quickly headed down, dismounting her broom several feet before the ground and running after the two. Though she paused in front of the boys changing room door where the others had gone into. A quick argument went on inside her head over what to do, but after more shouting was heard the dark haired girl went in. Neither made any indication of noticing her, or just didn't care.

"You shouldn't even be on this team!" The older boy shouted, his broom getting thrown halfway across the locked room. Mia filched slightly at the crashing sound, though stayed quiet to see what would happen.

"I earned my place this year!" the blonde retorted, pulling his quidditch robe off over his head and dumping it on the bench. "I won us the last match and would've won this one if Potter hadn't borrowed a decent broom". Jacob just grunted at the answer and took several steps towards the other, the 7th year towering over the third year easily.

""And what's going to be your excuse next time?" Draco's eyes wavered from Jacobs as he got closer, a string of emotions flickering over his face. Mia took that as enough of a reason to step in, going to where the two boys stood and pushing them apart.

"What is this? Testosterone season?" She enquired, a hand on both their chests. "Just back off" she instructed Jacob, keeping eye contact until he backed down, picking his broom back up and leaving the room. None of the other members tried to enter, all favouring going straight back to the Slytherin common room. Right now, that was a good thing for Mia.

"Are you ok?" She asked, her hand still pressed- lightly now, on the blondes chest. The snow had made his hair damp, and instead of the earlier slicked backness, it now hung limp and ion his eyes.

"Draco?" She prompted, though wished she hadn't.

"Fine" he said coldly, pushing her hand away and walking over to his locker. Most were empty, but Draco was one of the few who preferred to keep his quidditch robe and broom in there. They were locked with spells, and would only open at the owners' touch, which definitely helped to keep them secure. Chewing down on her lip, the younger girl sat down on one of the benches, waiting for him to finish. He seemed angry, no, he was angry. Of course he was who wouldn't be with Jacob just shouting insults at them. But there was no need for him to take it out on her.

"No one else agrees with him," she said once he'd finished.

"Of course they don't" he replied, his tone still one of anger. Frowning Mia stood up and walked over to him, mimicking his stand of leaning back against one of the lockers.

"Come on"

"Mm"

"Is that a yes or no?"

"Not sure" A small smirk flicked over Draco's features as the younger Slytherin slipped her hand into his and pulled him towards the door.

"I'm taking it as yes" she informed him, whilst pushing the door open and stepping out onto the snow.

It was mostly empty outside the changing room, most students favouring the warmth of the castle, but the third year wasn't ready t go back yet. Instead she let go of the blondes hand and nemt down, collecting a fairly big heap of snow and squashing it into a ball. Draco stood still whilst the younger messed about with the snow, though when he realised what it was going to be used for his eyes widened.

"Don't even think about it" Mia tilted her head to the side trying to look innocent, the snowball going from hand to hand. "I'm not kidding Mi, don't" he said, crossing his arms once more, obviously thinking she wouldn't. Shrugging she passed the snowball around again, before throwing it straight at Draco's face. It hit him perfectly, and the yelp he gave made it worth it. Even his threat of 'you're head' was funny with the snow still covering his mouth and nose.

"You've got a little something on your-"She began to say, though stopped and took off at a run as the blonde picked up his own snowball. Laughing, Mia ran through the grounds, dodging the few snowballs that were getting thrown.

She finally came to a stop after running down the steps to the bottom of the owlery, slightly out of breath.

"Truce, truce!" she shouted, as Draco jumped down the last few steps, a snowball still in his right hand. Non had managed to hit her so far, but with how close they were now, it was unlikely he'd miss.

"Where was this 'truce' when you started it?" The older teen asked, but didn't give her time to answer before throwing it. Mia squeaked as the cold hit her face and dripped down along her neck.

"That was uncalled for" she said, whilst brushing the snow from her face, no longer ever wanting to start a snowball fight with anyone again.

"Strange," Draco replied, walking across the space between them. "I thought the same thing when you first started it" he finished, his infamous smirk appearing. "You've got a little something on your face" The raven haired girl rolled her eyes as he said what she had tried to earlier. His hand reached up, lightly brushing the specs of snow from her cheek and lip, causing a smile to take up residence on her face.

"I wonder how that got there" she mumbled, licking her lips subconsciously when Draco had moved his hand away. Smirking, the blonde opened his mouth to speak, moving closer to her in the process.

"I'm sure it was an accident" he whispered, his forehead almost pressed against hers. Mia's heart rate started to increase, and at the back of her mind she was sure the rest of the school must be able to hear the thumping. Her hand slipped into the blondes' free one again, the touch becoming very familiar. Though before the darker haired girl could respond further two voices made them both jump.

"Draco!" they shouted, coming to a halt behind their leader. Crabbe and Goyle both looked out of breath, as if trying to find their prince was a very exhausting task.

"What?" Draco snapped, turning his head to glare at the followers. They looked from each other and back to the blonde, neither now wanting to speak.

"Snape wanted to see you" Crabbe said after several awkward seconds. That just caused Draco to grunt, reminding Mia of their not so nice captain, though her friend at least managed out a

"I'll see you later" before heading off to find the potions master.

**A/N: Awh, were you expecting them to kiss or something? Gosh of course not! :P Hi! Sorry the chapters are taking longer to get up, college comes first i'm afraid But thankyou to everyone who has been giving lovely reviews, this is for you. Keep the reviews coming, whether you're a new reader or have been here from the start Z-Nugget xx**


	32. Broken Nose

Christmas came and went, with barely anything happening. Once again, Mia found herself spending it at Hogwarts after turning down Ginny's offer to join her at the burrow, not wishing to feel like she was intruding. It wasn't all that bad though, as Draco decided against going home for the holiday as well. It was no surprise when Slytherin's Prince had gotten her another charm for the bracelet, this time a wand that shot tiny sparks out when touched.

The bracelet in question was currently jingling around the third year's wrist. Once again she was slightly late with trying to meet Draco, but this time she could at least blame it on professor Sprout; who had kept her in after class to go over some work she hadn't fully completed thanks to the damned blonde. Why was knowing about guilyweed ever going to be useful anyway? With that in mind, Mia jogged up to the entrance hall, pulling her hair back into a pony-tail to keep it out of her eyes before slowing her pace as she spotted the familiar damned head of hair.

"I know, I'm sorry" she started before he could even open his mouth. She didn't need another complaining lecture about being on time for the fourth time that week.

"If we miss the show now, you're in serious trouble". Draco warned, as he began walking out to the grounds. Mia just rolled her eyes however, following him and the dogs outside. She wasn't sure what the 'show' was, but she already knew there was no point in questioning it yet. A sarcastic response was bound to be the only reply.

They came to a stop once they'd crossed the bridge- which the little third year hated, it was just too long and high up for its own good in her opinion, and now stood at the top of the hill leading down to Hagrids hut. She frowned as she took in the view before her, not quite believing it. A man was stood in all black, even covering his face. An axe of sorts was held in one hand which he appeared to be sharpening. Buckbeak- whom Draco was starring daggers at currently, was tied up on the opposite side of the hut, chasing the few birds that dared land near him.

"Father and the minister of magic will be here shortly to make sure it all goes ahead" Draco said, snapping Mia out of the trance she was in watching the axe. His voice portrayed no emotion at the vile man making an appearance. Maybe he'd just become immune to it.

"This is barbaric" the dark haired girl stated, moving to lounge against one of the huge stones the three others were crouched behind. At least she couldn't see what would happen from where she stood. Although she could see Harry, Ron and Hermione rushing out of the bridge, all looking furious.

"Look" She instructed to the blonde, as the three got closer. He had just enough time to turn and comment with,

"Ah, come to see the show?" before the muggleborn began to shout insults at him, of which Mia didn't actually object.

"You! You fowl mouthed evil little cockroach!" she shouted, pulling her wand from her pocket and pressing it to Draco's neck, who had now backed up against the stone and was whimpering slightly. Vaguely Mia heard Harry yell 'no', though all her attention was on the blonde. Surely she wouldn't do anything, she wouldn't risk getting expelled. Though that still wasn't stopping the Slytherin's mind from racing of ideas on how to get Hermione away from him. Luckily they seemed to be on the same wavelength, as she finally lowered her wand and started to walk away. Unfortunately Draco- stupidly, decided to start laughing, which caused Hermione to turn back around and punch him right in the nose. Mia sighed as all three boys ran off back in the direction of the school, following them though at a slower pace.

"Well you walked into that one didn't you" she called, getting flipped off from the blonde with a possible broken nose.

**A/N: Eek. It's been a while, I'm sorry. But the chapters up now! Gosh this story might never end... The first chapter was written like 3 years ago O.o Who's still following this? Review! I love you for them Z-Nugget xx**


	33. Perfect

"It's fine now"

"No. You can still tell"

"Of course _I _can, I know what's happened" Ignoring the look of annoyance Draco shot at her, Mia stood up from the bed and joined him at the mirror. "No one else can tell" she reassured once more. His nose had in fact been broken by Hermione those few weeks ago. Though not wishing to tell madam Pomfry a 'mudblood' punched him, he instead blamed the incident on Crabbe (who was currently enduring two weeks of detentions with Snape for 'assaulting' another pupil.) Madam Pomfry had fixed Draco's nose almost instantly, and from looking there was no different from before. Not that he believed that. Instead he was convinced that everyone would somehow know a muggleborn had punched him and horribly disfigured his once handsome face. "No one else can tell" she repeated, looking over the blondes shoulder at his reflection. It wasn't the idea of other students knowing that was really bothering him through. It was 5th June. Slytherin Prince's birthday, and as a 'treat' (and his family having an insane amount of money) Draco's parents were taking him out to buy whatever he wished. Apparently that meant a trip to knockturn alley.

"What if he finds out" the reflection next to her said, causing a loud sigh to part Mia's lips.

"As far as they know, it was one of your moronic friends, why would he question that, and how on earth would he get to the conclusion of Hermione doing it?" raising an eyebrow, she leant her chin on his shoulder, admiring the sight in front of her. They were an odd couple as how they contrasted each other perfectly. Draco, which white blonde hair, piercing stormy blue eyes and a smirk nearly always in place. Mia with her pitch black and slightly wavy hair, bright emerald eyes and mostly a smile on her features. In fact the only similarity they shared was the pale white skin, of which Mia was sure it suited the older boy better.

"You look perfect" she said, voicing her thoughts aloud after several minutes had passed, though wished instantly she hadn't and took a step back. "I mean, from a general point of view, not that I personally think that. Well, I'm not saying you look horrid, I'm just- no one- fine. You look fine." She stumbled out once again regretting ever opening her mouth. Since the quidditch match in the snow Draco had been acting slightly off, in fact that was closest she'd gotten to him since without him making up a reason to leave. And it wasn't like he needed his ego busting on how 'perfect' he looked anyway. Right now though, he just looked bemused, which was quite possibly more infuriating.

"So, from a general view I look perfect, but to you I'm fine?" he teased, turning from the full length mirror to face Mia.

"Nnye". The bemused expression changed to an actual laugh at her answer, and as Draco went to the wardrobe to grab his jacket, she collapsed down onto the bed again. "Just go before you're late" she instructed, scowling slightly.

"Already gone" The blonde replied, closing the door behind him.

ZNZNZN

Mia stayed in their room for most of the day, only leaving to quickly have something to eat, and retrieve more books from the library to revise from. She ran into the twins, though managed to get away fairly easily by saying she felt ill (and after declining Fred's suggestion of dressing up like a nurse to look after her). She wanted to be in when Draco got back. Mainly to check he was alright, but she also hadn't given him a present yet. She'd gotten it a few weeks back, and he really was impossible to shop for. What do you get someone who could already buy anything they wanted? Eventually she'd settled on a muggle book Andromeda used to read to her when she was younger, of course she wouldn't actually tell him it was written by a muggle though.

It was past midnight when Draco finally made a reappearance, and poor Mia was barely conscious. Yet she still managed to sit up when he walked in and sleepily held out the blue wrapped present. The blonde went over to her, kicking off his shoes as he did so and lay down on the free side of the bed. He looked just as tired as she did, though he did at least try to look excited about opening another present when he just wanted to sleep.

"How'd it go?" the younger mumbled out whilst he was unwrapping the book. He seemed ok, that had to count for something, right?

"Fine" he answered, before a look of confusion covered his face. "Dracula?" Ok, so admittedly she'd mainly chosen that to see if he'd believe it was true a book, fact instead of fiction. Not that she was going to attempt to sway him towards fact or anything. Mia nodded, smiling sleepily. Part of her mind was telling her to peruse the 'fine', but the other sleep section was currently outweighing it.

"It's good, read it" she said, before letting her eyes close. She'd stayed up to give him the present, now that was done, sleep was fully welcome.

Draco waited until he was sure the dark haired girl was asleep before sliding off of the bed. He put the book on one of the free shelves, making a mental note to read it and stripped down to his boxers. It had been an incredibly long day, and he'd much preferred last year's birthday. His thirteenth birthday had been spent completely inside the school grounds, and consisted of most the Slytherin girls giving him things he didn't need nor really want, and Mia agreeing to wait on him all day as her gift. She hadn't seemed too keen on fetching him anything he wanted or having to do his charms homework however, but it was sure fun to watch.

No, instead of that this year, he'd gotten the 'pleasure' to join his parents in knockturn alley. It wasn't a place he generally ventured to, especially considering it was banned to attempt to get there on Hogsmede trips, (Well, and the fact that it crept Mia out) but he had been several times before. His mother bought a few things here and there, but nothing Draco had really wanted. As what seemed like a turn of luck however, Lucius had barely said two words to him, and they weren't even Happy Birthday. So he really hadn't been lying when he'd said the day had gone fine.

The blonde was about to get into bed, though stopped and walked back over to Mia instead, mainly on a moment of impulse. He pulled the duvet up, making sure she was properly covered before leaning down and brushing his lips lightly over her forehead. A rare smile stayed on his features as he moved back slightly, the smell of the flowers from whatever shampoo she was using enticing.

"Perfect" He said quietly, repeating what she'd said earlier (even if she hadn't meant to speak it aloud), before finally having to admit defeat on being able to stay awake. He padded back across the room, and collapsed down on his own bed, getting tangled up in the silk sheets and closing his eyes. Honestly, he'd of much rather spent the day with the little form sleeping across the room, even if she wouldn't agree to wait on him again, but he couldn't have gone against his father's wishes.

**A/N: **_**Woo nearly onto the 4**__**th**__** book, who's ready to read what will happen in the Goblet of Fire! Take your guesses what will happen to Mia next year, who will she go to the Yule ball with, who will she be supporting, will there be a big twist? :P Thank you to everyone who's reviewing, the more the merrier! Also, as I wrote the first chapter to this story around 4 years ago, I can't remember if I made Mia a metamorphmagus or not, if I did, i've changed my mind and that's no longer relevant. I will try to change the first chapter at some point if it says that. Z-Nugget xx**_


	34. Muggle Book

**A/N: I got a lovely review saying they wondered what would happen if Draco found out about the book being written by a muggle, so this chapter was really inspired by you (and the fact I haven't really focused on Mia's powers of such). Also, I honestly think i've spelt Mia's name wrong as compared to how I pronounce it. So if you're curious it really should be Mya.**

Well, for some reason Draco felt the obscene need to try and search for vampire books after reading Dracula and unfortunately ended up finding out it was written by a muggle. Which really wasn't a situation Mia wanted to find herself in again.

"_I asked in the library who Bram Stoker is" Draco said once his roommate had returned from a quidditch practice of which he hadn't been needed. (Not that he was on great speaking terms with Jacob again)._

"_Oh?" She questioned cautiously. There were only a few muggle books in the library and all were dull muggle-studies related, it was very unlikely he had found anything out, though he didn't look too pleased. Maybe that was just his normal expression._

"_There was nothing, so i got a house elf to find out for me" Then again, maybe not. A look of despise arose on the blondes features as he stood up, making his way towards Mia, the book in question gripped tightly in his pale hands causing the pages to bend up at odd angles._

"_You thought it was good!" That just seemed to make him more disgusted._

"_What if i'd asked mother about it? Or father?" The smile that had been playing on the raven haired girls lips vanished at that. She really hadn't even considered it, how could she have been so stupid?_

"_I didn't think" she spoke quietly, biting down on her lower lip._

"_You never do" Draco retorted, using all of his strength to throw the book straight at her head spine first, a move that would have easily knocked her back several paces. Which really wasn't a good idea as said book didn't even have a chance to reach her before her hand shooting out and it getting sent sideways, hitting the wall with a crack. Draco blinked several times, more confused than anything, though he quickly focused in on how dark the younger's eyes had gone, the green in her hair almost invisible. "Mia?" he whispered, realising something was very wrong and took a careful step forward. She didn't move really, well apart from her head tilting to the left slightly. "Mia?" he tried again, taking another step, and another. He stopped a foot or so in front of her, and somehow resisted the urge to jump back as she spoke, her voice sounding... wrong, having a sickly sweet air about it._

"_That wasn't very nice" The third year shook his head, deciding his best option was just to agree. She seemed like she had been last year in Lockhearts disastrous defence against the dark arts lesson, and that really hadn't gone well for anyone. Taking a shakey breath, he reached out slowly, playing his hand on her shoulder without her reacting._

"_Mia, calm down" he said quietly, hoping it would work, "Please Mi" the younger girls eyes flashed back and forth between green and black for several seconds as an internal battle went on inside her head, though they ended up staying black. Draco also ended up getting shoved, a lot harder than should have been possible for Mia into the far wall, although thankfully the same cracking sound that had been heard earlier with the book was not repeated. Before he could focus properly she was above him, her face blank just as before. "Mi" He croaked through a cough, attempting to get up from the slump he was in but failing and deciding to stay still instead. Somehow that seemed to get through to her though, as her eyes flickered between colours once more. But when they did finally go back to green – albeit a darker shade than usual, it was a horrified look they held. She sunk down to her knees, her legs unable to hold her weight any longer._

_Draco waited a few more seconds just to be of no repeat attacks, before half crawling over to her and pulling the smaller form into his arms. She stayed stiff at first, but finally her arms slowly tightened around his body, her hands gripping at the black t-shirt he was wearing as though he would disappear any moment._

"_You ok?" He asked when she hadn't moved for several minutes. She didn't answer at first, and instead buried her head deeper against his shoulder, taking comfort in his smell._

"_Mhm" she mumbled out, her breath warm against his skin. The blonde refused to leave it at that however, and hesitantly pried Mia off, ignoring the whimpering sounds of protest she was making._

"_I'm sorry" He said, lifting her chin up to look into her eyes, of which were thankfully back to normal. She let him hold her chin but refused to meet his grey orbs._

"_It wasn't your fault" She said eventually, glancing up to look at him for a moment._

"_It was. __**I**__ didn't think" He said, changing around his earlier words. Mia frowned slightly trying to move closer to him again, but Draco held her at arms length. "If I admit it was a good book, are we alright again?" A small half choked laugh left the younger's lips and she gave a slight nod happy to change the subject._

"'_l'll think next time"_

"_So will I" The blonde agreed, holding her close again._

**A/N: Any questions? Tips? Just want to say you're still reading it? Leave a comment it'll make my day! (Seriously i'm sad like that :P )**


	35. Blue Gnome

A sound of annoyance parted Mia's lips as she tried to hull her case- that she was sure had gotten heavier since she'd arrived onto the train. Thankfully Draco was only a step behind her, and was now lightly pushing her sideways so he could lift the case for her.

"Thanks" the third year said, hopping on after and going to their carriage.

"Well, you'd still be struggling now without me" Draco declared, causing her to swat him around the head. She wasn't that weak" the book incident had not been spoken of, much to Mia's relief, and she had no idea if he'd thrown it away or stashed it somewhere to keep.

"Are you sure they'll be alright with me coming again this year?" she asked quietly, once they were seated and the train was underway. Unfortunately the dogs, Pansy and Blaize were sharing the carriage with them, Pansy sat the other side of the blonde and throwing daggers at the other girl with her eyes at the mention of she being the one invited over to the Malfoys.

"Mother suggested it" he reassured, though only mentioned one of his parents views on the matter. He turned his head and leant closer, adding quieter so only she could hear, "And if she hadn't, I would have anyway,. You make it bearable" a small smile appeared on Mia's lips at that, although the sad truth behind it soon made it vanish.

"Do you want me to come before she does Draco?" Pansy questioned, as if he actually wanted to see her. The younger third year bit her tongue rather than responding, and instead entwined her fingers within his. He gave a slight squeeze before answering,

"She'll be gone two weeks if that. I don't think I'll need you to come." That made Mia laugh, a lot, and she had to try and cover it up by coughing into her free hand.

The next few hours were relatively calm after that, with the flower only saying the occasional insult which the other chose to ignore. Draco kept a hold of her hand for the whole journey, and tightened his grip once the train stopped, as if he was scared she'd let go.

"Who's waiting?" she asked as they stood up and everyone exited the carriage.

"Only mother" Well that at least answered why he was still staying so close.

"Will he be-" She started again after jumping down the final step of the train, though got cut off by his quick response again.

"Yes. He's having to keep a low profile, so staying at home most of the time." The raven haired girl made no attempt to hide her disappointment at that, though did ignore the glare he gave her.

Narcissa was in fact waiting beside one of the brick pillars, and looked far more elegant than most of the other parents, although that could just be thanks to how much money she had to look so good.

"Hi Mrs Malfoy" Mia greeted, choosing to use her last name even though she had been told on numerous occasions otherwise. Draco didn't say any kind of hello, and instead dropped the younger girls hand to carry his trunk which had appeared at his feet.

"We should get going" Narcissa said once her son had stood for several seconds going from foot to foot, and turned on her heel to leave the train station. She didn't seem to be in a particularly good mood today, and although Mia was curious as to why, there was no way she would ever think about asking. Maybe it was just having Lucius around all the time. That would put a dampener on anyone's mood.

"I'll be around in a few weeks" She said when Narcissa had begun to walk off, making a mental note to send him a letter to make he remembered she would be coming. Draco nodded as response, heading off after his mother. "Good luck" she whispered, though knew he wouldn't hear. Unfortunately the red head whom was now stood behind her could.

"What would he possibly need good luck with?" Turning, Mia put on a confused expression, ignoring that her friend clearly wasn't buying it. Rather than try to find out further, Ginny just shrugged and changed the topic, reminding her once again why she was such good friends with the girl. "Mom's waiting, she said we can go to yours first in case you need anything". The darker haired girl thought about it for a moment, deciding it was probably best to see if there was anything that could be useful later on,

"Sure, sounds good" she answered, picking up her trunk. The two girls made their way towards Mrs Weasley, the plump woman offering smiles all around, before ignoring the twins pleas to join them, and jumping into the nearest fire place.

Andromeda was the only one in the simplistic house when they got there, and Mia 'gracefully' exited the fireplace by tripping over a new rug that hadn't been there before. Apart from that, the rest of the room was still exactly the same. Pale green walls, perfectly matching, yet just as boring furniture, and pictures of family on every spare inch possible. The tall mother like figure greeted the two, much like Mrs Weasley had, only without all the hugging. Andromeda had never been that much of an emotional person, though that trait certainly hadn't been inherited by her daughter Tonks, who was more emotional than anything.

"I'm picking up a few things for the holiday" The newly finished third year explained, rushing past and up to her room. Ginny followed, but stopped short of actually entering the bedroom and it took Mia several confusing seconds to realise why, the look on her friends face a mixture of awe and jealousy. Although her room wasn't exactly huge, it wasn't small either, especially when compared with the little redhead's in front of her. Thank God she would never see the size of Draco's.

"Could you take the extra clothes left in the wardrobe and put them in the spare bag on my bed please?" Well, at least it would give he something else to do than stand and stare.

Whilst Ginny got on with that, Mia went over to her wooden dressing table by the window. There wasn't much left on it, as with the rest of the room, most had been things she'd taken to Hogwarts, but there were still a few odds and ends that might come in handy at some point in the future. Scooping it all up, even including the several half empty nail polishes in vibrant colours- at least she was nothing if not thorough, she placed them all into another, smaller rucksack before joining the other girl on the bed. "Thanks" She said, noting all the clothes had been neatly folded and now packed. Picking up that bag too, both girls headed back down stairs, and once Mia had said goodbye to Andromeda, they used the 'lovely' floo network to finally go to the burrow.

Shouting was heard instantly before the sight in front of them unfolded.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU" That was Mrs Weasley.

"It wasn't me!" George... Possibly.

"HOW DID THOSE GNOMES TURN BLUE?"

"Maybe they wanted to be smurfs?" Now Mia wasn't sure how Fred knew of a muggle creation, but she was sure Mr Weasley was to blame. Either way, she found the idea rather funny and couldn't help a small laugh. Unfortunately that drew the attention off all three redheads who were currently in the kitchen and the discoloured blue gnome stood frozen in the corner. Well, his body was frozen, his eyes however appeared a mixture of bewilder and anger, probably at being turned blue. Ginny hardly batted an eyelash at the whole situation, and instead took one of the bags and walked through the kitchen, her footsteps still being heard as she made her way up to the bedrooms. Part of Mia wanted to stay and watch what would unfold, but a call from above of her name got her attention enough to leave, laughing once more at the blue gnome and the wink Fred gave her.

"They turned it red last time" Ginny mused once the Slytherin had joined her. It really must have looked angry then.

"You have my sympathy" Shutting the door behind her, the darker haired girl went over to the mattress that had been put in especially. It wasn't as comfy as a proper bed, and was slightly awkward with how low it was, but it would do just fine.

"Are you still going to Malfoy's in a few weeks?" Mia looked up from her temporary bed, a frown on her features. What was with this family and using last names?

"He's different without others around" She confessed, positive that wouldn't be enough to get her into trouble. Ginny looked sceptical however,

"Next you'll be telling he's nice" She actually opened her mouth to argue so, but decided against it, there was no point.

"All I'm saying is, people aren't who they always appear to be" Giving up on the conversation, the older of the two lay back on the bed, wondering if anyone else would ever know the truth of her comment.

**A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a little longer than my normal ones which i'm proud of xD I would've got this uploaded soon but it was my birthday the other day, sorry you had to wait. Please favourite and review! Everyone who does it amazing! Z-Nugget xx**


	36. Demon Bag

Unsurprisingly Mia's weeks at the Weasley's were not those of great drama. In fact the blue gnome incident was probably the highlight. Of course that didn't mean for one second the twins behaved themselves.

Mia sat on the foot of Ginny's bed, favouring it to the mattress on the floor, and attempted to pack her trunk once more. The problem was not packing it however; it was getting the clothes to stay in the case when they kept flying out. Ginny had already gone in search of her brothers after a flying grey jumper had hit her on the head, but had not returned yet. Moving off of the bed, and away from the demon bag, the soon to be fourteen year old made her way down one flight of stairs to the twin's bedroom. She'd been in it several times before, nd as two people shared it, it was obviously larger than Ginny's. The mess in it was far worse though. Deciding against not and slowly pushing the door open, she held a breath preparing for some kind of booby trap, which thankfully never came. Instead there was a quiet swearing noise, and a flash of red hair darted into the wardrobe. Raising an eyebrow, Mia followed, pausing for a second before pulling open the door. One twin, of which she wasn't sure, stood trying to blend in with the hanging clothes. Maybe if he'd chosen something redy/orange it would've worked better, but the pale blue just wasn't doing the job.

"What _are_ you doing?" The twin peaked out, looking for a second like a deer caught in the headlights, but once he realised it wasn't his sister a cheeky grin yet unnerving grin spread over his lips that made Mia sceptical.

"Well, I'm now thinking seven minutes in heaven" He said, moving to one side and gesturing for her to join him. Did he think she was about to agree to that suggestion? _Oh, how romantic_ she thought sarcastically though reframed from saying aloud.

"Fred?" She questioned instead, hoping the other twin hadn't become infatuated with her as well. Rolling her eyes and wishing they were easier to tell a part she took a step backwards, maybe they could dye their hair, different colours obviously. An insulted look took place of the grin at that,

"Are you seriously suggesting I look like George?" This time resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Mia took a hold of Fred's arm and gave a tug, pulling him from the wardrobe. Did he really find himself funny? All he seemed able to do was joke and pull pranks, a serious conversation was near impossible. It was clear from the hiding he'd been the one to jinx her trunk, but that still didn't explain why Ginny hadn't found him. Surely she would've checked the bedroom? As if reading her mind the head in front of her spoke, "George ran out and down the kitchen just as Gin was coming downstairs. I think she followed him assuming he'd done something wrong" Fred gave a far too innocent shrug, probably for Mia's benefit as if she were that gullible and went to the bunk beds, flopping down onto the bottom one. Scowling she placed her hands on her hips, could he just admit it had been a prank and fix it? She'd never get to Draco's on time at this rate. Then again, maybe that was the idea.

"Are you going to fix my trunk?" she asked, wanting to drag him into Ginny's room and force him to do so.

"Are you going to join me in bed?" it was meant to be a joke, as was most of what came out of Fred's mouth, but her answer was blunt.

"No" she wasn't in the mood for this anymore.

"Then no" He retorted, a pout appearing.

"Fred." She threatened, though didn't get any further as someone came yelping up the stairs. Turning away from the boy she was about to throttle, the Slytherin opened the door and peered out. Ginny was leading, and gave her a curt nod as she carried on up, George in toe supplying the yelps due to his sister's tight grip on his ear.

"You're worse than mom!" The caught twin whined but had already stopped struggling, realising how obviously pointless it was.

"You haven't seen anything yet! Now fix that trunk or yo..." her friends voice trailed off as they disappeared upstairs, but several thumps were clearly heard, leaving no doubt in Mia's mind that her trunk would be fixed when she went to check it next. Admittedly she did fear slightly about George's well being now, and once again mad a mental note not to get on her best friends wrong side. Luckily that only seemed an easy thing to do for her brothers. Maybe that was the reason she had such a temper sometimes though, growing up with six brothers really couldn't have been easy, then again, it still wasn't.

"Poor kid" Mia looked round over her shoulder, smirking suddenly at Fred.

"Don't think you're getting off like that" she said, and walked out of the door. The slight terror building on his face a satisfying enough sight to leave on.

**A/N: Sorry it's not that long, I couldn't think of anything to put in this chapter really. But I hope it's ok, tell me what you think! A new one will be up in roughly a week, that seems to be the rate i'm getting the written. Don't make me beg for your reviews readers -_- Thanks for reading Z-Nugget xx**


	37. Beautiful

The weather was horrid when Mia awoke the next morning, and it didn't improve as she carried the finally packed trunk down the stairs to the fire place. She decided not to take it as a bad sign though. Neither twin was there to say goodbye, Mrs Weasley using it as part of their unusual punishment both for the blue gnome and trunk jinx. Ginny was there however, and hugged her tightly, making sure to add that she could come back at any point if Draco's was terrible. Ignoring the comment, and just rolling her eyes instead, the Slytherin stepped into the fire place, glad of the warmth it was giving off for a change and dropped the floo powder.

Unlike last year she was not early and rather perfectly on time. This was mainly to make sure she wouldn't stumble on the same sight as last year. That wasn't good for anyone. Thankfully Lucius was nowhere to be seen, and apart from Draco who was stood with his hands in his pockets staring out the window, the room was packed with house elves. Momentarily ignoring the creatures Mia dropped her trunk and quick walked across the floor to Draco, who's arms she nearly jumped into. He hugged her back, almost lifting her up off the floor in the process before letting out a breath.

"Wasn't sure you were still coming" he admitted, keeping her close.

"Don't be stupid" she replied, beaming up at him, glad to know he seemed fine. With that all in check their attention was drawn back to the house elves, all of which were madly scurrying around the dining room arranging the table.

"Mother's hosting a dinner" the blonde filled in whilst instructing one of the poor creatures to take the trunk. "You'll be expected to attend" _Oh, sounds like so much fun_ her mind thought bitterly, the idea of having to sit around and listen to snotty uptight purebloods really not an experience she wanted.

"I don't have anything to wear" she countered with as they were ascending the second staircase. If her memory was correct, they were now on both their bedrooms corridor. Then again, she could be wrong. Draco paused mid step as she spoke, appearing to actually think the dilemma through.

"Mother will sort you out; she'll still be in her dressing room". A scowl flashed over the younger's face. She was sure that would have worked! Maybe she could fake an illness? The twins' sweets from her birthday were packed somewhere... Laughing snapped her from her thoughts, and Mia looked up confused at the other. "If I have to go," He stared, threading his fingers though hers. "So do you". They stood still like that for several minutes, a smile on both their faces as they gazed into the others eyes. Draco's free hand came up to rest on her cheek, stroking softly. She could feel her face flush, but couldn't care less, especially when the blondes hand travelled from her cheek to her lips, lingering on the pink softness. She closed her eyes in anticipation as he began to move his mouth closer to hers, butterflies rising in her stomach. But the contact never came.

Instead footsteps were heard, firstly by Draco down another corridor, and both teenagers jumped away from each other. It was only a house elf though, and they both waited until it had gone past, before bursting out laughing. What an overreaction there! Still laughing slightly the older boy brushed his fingers over hers.

"You should go find mother, she'll get you a dress ready" He instructed. Nodding Mia began walking back the way she came, though had to stop almost instantly. How on earth was she meant to know where to go? This was hardly a place to be exploring. Looking back over her shoulder she raised an eyebrow.

"As much as I'd love to walk into an awkward situation, i think you should tell me where to go with easy to follow instructions" she said sarcasm evident in the first half of her sentence. The blonde smirked, shoving his hands deep into his jean pockets once more.

"Take a left, go up one flight, another left and the sixth door on the right".

Znznznzn

Mia tried to follow his instructions as best she could, and finally came to what she hoped was the sixth door. There was nothing special about it, it did not stand out from the rest, and of course there was a possibility it was completely the wrong door and an evil ghost or dragon could be behind it. Trying to ignore the thoughts protruding into her head, she knocked twice and waited.

_One, two, three, four..._ After five seconds the raven haired girl started to think maybe Narcissa wasn't in there. What would she do if that was the case? There was no way she could go to the dinner in her own clothes, and Draco clearly wasn't letting her out of it that easy. Draco... her thoughts quickly changed from dress problems to the blonde now several floors down. They'd nearly kissed. If that house elf hadn't appeared they would have... But they'd both jumped away at the sound of an intruder. What if they hadn't been stood there and were in fact in his room? Would the outcome have been different? Before she could ponder that idea for too long the door in front quickly opened. A house elf, dressed in a grubby lilac pillow case peered up, its beady eyes looking annoyed.

"Is Mrs Malfoy in there?" The elf glanced behind it and to the right slightly, a voice answering, but far too quietly for Mia to hear before she was gestured in. Taking a step forward, and into the 'dressing room', she took a breath in. It was huge, and it wasn't even an essential place! The walls were a cream colour, a strange contrast to the darkness of the rest of the house. A pale green carpet filled the floor, and a door to the far right led off to what appeared to be a walk in wardrobe. If this wasn't a room to be jealous of, she didn't know what was. Narcissa was stood in front of one of three full length mirrors, a deep almost midnight blue figure hugging dress on her. Her hair was pulled back fully into a bun and she seemed to be deciding whether she liked the outfit or not. After one more half turn, her attention fell upon Mia, an eyebrow raised.

"I don't have anything to wear for tonight, Draco sent me here" she explained, chewing down on her lip afterwards. What must Narcissa think of her? The older woman didn't look displeased though, and instead smiled slightly.

"We'll find you something, won't we Della" She said and the house elf- presumably Della, went scurrying off into the wardrobe.

Znznznzn

It took them several hours, six changes of dresses and a lot of hard work on Della's part, but finally Mia was ready. She left the dressing room in a blood red floor length dress. It was simplistic, with thin shoulder straps and a pinched waist, but along with the mass of curls her hair was in, it looked amazing. The house elf had also completed her make-up, Smokey eyes and dark full lips finished the look off perfectly.

Draco's face lit up as he opened his bedroom door, a smile, much bigger than Mia had seen in a long time filling up his face.

"You look beautiful" he said whilst taking her hand and making her turn in a circle so he could get a proper look.

"So do you" She replied, looking him over now as well. He wasn't quite in a tux, which was a shame, but the black slacks, white shirt and red tie that somehow matched the dress she wore would certainly do.

They walked down to the dinning room together, the younger's hand resting on the others arm all the way. Narcissa and unfortunately Lucius were both stood at the door, currently in a conversation with a couple Mia didn't recognise. Neither paid much attention as the two teenagers went past- though Lucius did manage to shoot a glare their way.

Only seven people were already sat down, and the two managed to get almost secluded seats easily.

"Does she have a lot o there dinners?" Mia asked after several minutes had passed. It had been bugging her since Draco had said about this one earlier, and she couldn't understand why people would want them at all. He have a nod, loosely crossing his arms over his chest. His mother loved having dinner parties, and there were easily six a year.

"Keeping up appearances" The blonde explained, before gesturing to his parents who were looking like a perfect married couple. Mia found it rather annoying, and resisted the urge to say what Lucius was really like to the rest of the party.

The dinner was actually ok. Well, dull as hell, but otherwise it was fine. The two teenagers were mostly ignored, as though they wouldn't be able to comprehend anything said. Once the dinner was over, or rather as soon as the dinner was over, Lucius gave Draco a look that he was somehow able to understand as 'leave now', and both soon to be forth years stood up and excused themselves. They made their way upstairs, both going to Draco's room as usual and falling down onto the bed. Well, the blonde fell onto the bed, Mia instead chose to stand in front of a mirror, removing the various items of jewellery- aside from the infamous bracelet and finally taking off the mounds of make-up that covered her face.

"Much better" She stated after, joining him on the bed. She had to admit it had been nice to have been all madde up, but it was also nice to get it all taken off and feel more natural. The blonde merely shrugged, moving over so she had enough room to lie down.

"I like either way" he said, glancing sideways with a curious look when she didn't move.

"I don't want to risk ruining the dress at all" she explained, standing back up and smoothing the few creases out. "In fact I better go take this off". The smirk which appeared on his features causing her to scowl. "No" she said and turned to leave the room before he could see the smile threatening to over throw the scowl at the thought.

"Goodnight" she heard Draco call from behind her as she shut the door.

"Good night" she whispered, realising the dinner really hadn't been that evil.

**A/N: woo new chapter up! Sorry it's taken a little longer than usual but i've been busy with my A.S exams. I'm looking at roughly 1-2 weeks for the next chapter. Review though! Anything you think could be better? What do you like about this story? What would you love to happen? A good twist you could think of maybe? Should they kiss? Tell me your thoughts! Z-Nugget xx**


	38. Steal My Wand

The first week passed easily, with a mixture of quidditch practice and swimming races in the pools. Draco won the quidditch, easily considering he always had the faster broom. Though he didn't stand a chance with the swimming.

Both were exhausted after yet another swimming match and slowly climbed the stairs up to Draco's room. Mia'd beaten him again, and now he was sulking. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel she had borrowed from one of the many bathrooms, where as Draco's was damp and dripping down his shirtless back. They stopped before the bedroom doors and the younger Slytherin muttered something about getting changed first and went into her temporary bedroom.

She still couldn't get over how big it was, and as she changed out of her bikini and into a pair of khaki shorts and plain black t-shirt, she imagined what any off the Weasley's would look like if they'd see it. Giving her hair one last tussle with the towel, she grabbed a bobble and plated it so it would g waxy when dry. Finally the teenager left the room and went across to Draco's, knocking and opening the door at the same time. He'd also gotten changed, though only managed to be half dressed, barely able to pull his trousers up in time as she entered.

"Sorry" she apologised half-heartedly, not really all that sorry. He waved it off though, picking up the green shirt with a broomstick on it and pulling it over his head. The scars on his back had been magically covered up on all of the occasions he'd been shirtless, and Mia was beginning to enjoy seeing the smooth flawless skin there. "Are you still sulking?"

"You cheated!" That was a yes then. Frowning she crossed her arms over her chest.

"How on earth did I cheat?" He shrugged, unable to come up with a valid reason but refused to back down. Admitting defeat was weak, and one thing Draco Malfoy was not was weak. "Right, so because you lost, again, I cheated?" Mia asked trying to get her head around what he was saying.

"Exactly" he answered before throwing the towel he'd used on his body at her. She ducked but it still managed to hit her on the shoulder. Her 'magical side' as Mia was now calling it, only seemed to appear when she was in danger, yet that seemed to be fading the more she was with the blonde. Picking it back up off the floor and throwing it back, the younger walked over to the desk. Draco normally kept his wand on him, but right now it was sat atop a pile of books just waiting to be taken.

"I think this should be my prize" she stated whilst slipping the wand into her hand and taking slow steps towards the door, a grin over her features. The blonde looked un-amused though, and lunged at her, causing her to now make a hasty retreat out of the door and running down the hallway. She could hear the laughter in the others voice as he pursued, shouting to

"Get back here!" she ignored the joking threats the came after, making it down the stairs and through another hallway, turning left and out a door leading to the grounds. Her name was called again as she entered the huge maze, and part of her mind was warning her not to get lost. The dark haired girl didn't stop though. Once she was deep into the tall bushed, Mia paused, doubling over and trying to catch her breath. Running really wasn't that easy when you spent most of your time on a broom. Unfortunately Draco's blonde hair started to become visible around one of the corners and she had to take off again, this time laughing at the annoyed look he gave.

It went on for over half an hour, like a giant game of hide and seek, but eventually the order's stamina won out. Mia sped round another corner, the opening of the maze in sight, yet Draco was right behind her now, managing to grab her around the waist and swing her halfway around before she could reach it. The wand was still in her hand, which was now up in the air to try and keep it away.

"Mine" She protested, but was quickly tackled to the ground- gently of course, as his foot tangled around her knee, putting on enough pressure for them to collapse. They both fell, Draco landing over, but not on top of Mia as he snatched the wand back.

"Mine" he said quietly, a smile visible in his eyes. Mia didn't bother to try and take it back, knowing it would be a pointless struggle.

"You could've just asked for it back" she declared instead, her breathing still irregular from the running.

"You could've just not stolen it" he countered with, his own breathing much more stable. She resisted the urge to start a 'you could've' war, and bit her lip instead, beginning to sit up, thinking the blonde would do the same. But he didn't. Mia glanced down for a heartbeat, before back up at him, her mouth parting slightly as a question mark covered her features. For instead Draco stayed perfectly still as she got closer, a peaceful, almost relieved look filling his face when her lips finally met his. He could feel her smile, and did so himself, putting all of his weight onto one of his hands to stop his body from crushing her, and his now free hand slid into the dark hair. Carefully he pulled most of it from the bobble it was encaged in, his fingers running through the released curls, his lips slowly moving against her. They had to break apart after several more seconds, Mia's breathing even worse than after the run. They stayed looking into the others eyes however, happy looks on both faces.

Draco rolled off and stood finally, brushing the dirt from his knees and helping Mia up. He pulled her against him in the process, kissing her forehead.

"And that's why you shouldn't steal my wand" he said when they started walking back up to the manor. Mia raised an eyebrow, still smiling,

"I'll steal it more often if that's the outcome" the blonde nudged her lightly, a laugh escaping from his lips.

"Want to steal it again right now?" He offered, the smile changing to a smirk. Rolling her eyes the younger chose to ignore the comment. She'd be lying if she said that wasn't tempting, but as Lucius was now visible peering out of the kitchen window, his eyes flashing furiously, she decided against it. Although even he couldn't put a dampener on her mood right now.

**A/N: N'aww they kissed. How sweet right? Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Please keep them coming, what do you think about what just happened? What will happen now? Ooh questions! I'll answer any you have Z-Nugget xx**


	39. Quidditch World Cup

Since the day of the kiss Mia'd noticed Draco was now acting off with her. He hadn't said anything directly, but there were subtle changes which she recognised. For one, they hadn't kissed since, and every time they were together he seemed to constantly be checking over his shoulder.

"Is everything ok?" she asked almost a week later as they sat in the library. He also now seemed reluctant to be in any bedroom alone with her, as though the younger would jump him given the opportunity.

"There's the quidditch world cup happening soon" he said, ignoring the question completely. "Father has tickets from the minister, so we're going" she wasn't sure if this 'we' included her or not, but really didn't want t ask. Mainly in case the answer was no.

"Good seats then?" she opted for instead and he nodded.

"You should be able to see everything". You? Surely that was directly implying that she would be able to? Hoping that was the case this time the darker haired girl nodded, placing the book which had been aiding her in potions homework back onto the side table.

Turning to face him, the question slipping out before she could stop it, "Have I done something?". The blonde head of hair looked up slowly, seeming to choose his words carefully, one hand ruffling his hair, a trait he did when annoyed with himself.

"You haven't done anything" he answered earnestly, as though needing her to believe that. "Everyone just needs to remember their place". And with that he went back to reading.

ZNZNZN

By the end of the week Mia was really looking forward to the quidditch world cup. There was still a hint of doubt in her mind earlier that morning that she wasn't included, but a passing house elf had filled her in.

Unlike the Malfoy's she'd dressed for the occasion, a green top with 'Ireland' written across it showering her support. Maybe it was because they were the better team, or possibly just due to the accents could be the reason why she'd picked that side. But either way the eldest Malfoy looked down his nose at her choice. They all apparated there, which was a new and horrific experience. Lucius went first, alone of course, just disappearing into the air. Then Draco took a hold of his mother's hand. The darker haired girl must have looked confused, as Narcissa then held her other hand out, which after a glance at Draco; who just looked bored, she took. The sensation was horrible, made worse by the fact no one had told her to hold her breath. Her lungs were still burning even after they'd 'landed' and begun walking along the wooden bridges to the ministers box.

Halfway along she heard voices above them which she recognised, and rather than continuing around the corner with the crowd Mia nudged her way over to the side, looking up at the staircase. All the Weasley's- minus Molly whom Mia could remember her friend saying disliked the sport; mainly something to do with the twins, were walking up. The sight caused the Slytherin to smile when said twins caught her eye, and they waved like mental patients just escaped from St. Mungos.

"Blimey dad, how high up are we?" Ron asked, but before Mr Weasley could answer Lucius had appeared beside the Slytherin, Draco a step behind.

"Let's put it this way," The older called, a cruel smile on his lips. "If it rains, you'll be the first to know" his sons laugh caused Mia to glance away, down from the twins eyes. She should be sticking up for them, and she knew it! But Draco was already being off with her... since when did she become such a coward?

"Father and I are in the ministers box, by personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself". Frowning she realised he hadn't mentioned her or his mother, though Narcissa was nowhere to be seen. Before she could dwell on that fact any longer, Lucius hit his cane into his sons chest, winding him slightly but not enough for anyone else to really notice.

"Don't boast Draco" he scolded, looking up at Mr Weasley, "There's no need with these people" all the Weasley's, Harry and Hermione included turned away and started up another flight of stairs. Unfortunately Lucius' cane pinned Harry's jacket to the wooden fence. "Do enjoy yourself, while you can" he said, removing it and walking off. Mia couldn't bring herself to glance up at the twins or Ginny for that matter, and instead followed the two blonde heads.

She was disgusted with herself, to such an extent that her mind just would not stay on the match. The seats were brilliant, but even the impressive fireworks couldn't keep her interest. She didn't even find out who won. Lucius went to speak with Fudge after the match ended, then whispered something to Draco before quickly leaving the stands. Mia raised an eyebrow, wondering where he was gong, but didn't care enough to ask. However that did present the problem of how to get back now.

"Where do we go now?" she question out loud to her friend, who was already heading out of the stadium.

"Father's arranged a tent" he briefly explained, taking the steps two at a time, the other having to jog to keep up. What was his rush?

"Draco, what's wrong?" she asked when they'd reached the ground, annoyance flickering at the back of her mind at how muddy her shoes were going to get. She guessed Draco carrying her was out of the question.

"Draco?" still no answer. "Draco" She tried again, louder this time even though he was stood only several paces in front. "Malfoy!" ok, so she hated calling him by his last name, it was just another similarity of him being like his father. But she knew it would make him stop. And it did, hints of worry etched on is features as he turned to face her.

"Look, he just said we need to get to the tent. Now. I don't know why!" he finally admitted, though was obviously agitated about having to stop and talk. It made no sense why getting to a tent was so important, but apparently it was. So with that in mind, the raven haired girl followed the blonde, swerving through cheering dancing wizards all enjoying the celebration.

Things changed in a matter of seconds though. Explosions replaced the fireworks, screams instead of cheering as fires sprung up everywhere and the little worry she had seen on his face changed to full panic. Mia lost sight of Draco almost instantly, getting pulled in the opposite direction. She tried to get free, struggling against the crowd but was knocked to the floor by a fleeing witch. Wincing at the impact, her ankle complained as she tried to move it side to side. '_Great'_ she thought attempting to stand but thought better of it as a few wizards were running in her direction. Sitting there for a while wouldn't really cause any harm, at least it did mean she could try and figure out what was going on. People were still running, several screams and shouts being heard over the explosions, but nothing seemed to be the cause yet, well at least nothing she could see.

Looking over her shoulder the teenagers eyes widened, mainly in fear as what appeared to be a group of death eaters came marching into view. They all had their wands drawn, and although their faces were covered Mia knew one was starring straight at her. She was frozen to the spot, even if her ankle didn't hurt she knew moving wouldn't have been an option. Her mouth opened to scream as he lifted his wand, pointing it straight at her, but it died in her throat. Surely he wouldn't kill her, she was meant for more than just dying in a death eater attack like this! Maybe it would just be a stunning spell... Oh who was she kidding? He was a death eater, the clue was in the title! Said cult worshiper in question suddenly turned away, his attention being momentarily distracted. A pair of hands slipped under Mia's shoulders within seconds of the distraction, dragging her up and behind a smoking half ripped tent. Turning on the spot she threw her arms around her saviour, letting a whimper of relief pass her lips. Draco pulled the younger closer, holding her tight within the enclosure of his arms, attempting to shield her from the disruption and chaos going on around them.

"Thank god" He breathed into her hair, barely audible. "We need to go, can you walk?" ignoring the protest her ankle was giving off she nodded, taking the hand he offered and jogging behind. They tried to stay to the shadows, Draco still possessing a need of urgency to find the tent, even more so now that Mia was injured. She was struggling to keep up, her ankle hurting from the fall, but the adrenalin was outweighing the pain for now. They swerved around bags that had been abandoned on the floor, Draco jumping over a barrel easily as Mia tripped and stumbled over it instead. Non of it made him slow down though, and his grip on her hand stayed painfully tight, but he wouldn't lose her again. If anything the temptation to pick her up and carry her was becoming more and more possible. "Come on!" he hissed as she slowed down, not so much angry at her but with himself for letting anything bad happen. She simply nodded again though, her speed picking up to a stabbing run in her leg. After passing several small fires and pausing to hide from another, this time smaller group of death eaters, the two came into sight of what they hoped was the right tent. His father hadn't been very specific, but the symbol of a dragon on the side looked right. Draco sprinted towards it, carrying the brunette more than leading her now. It was vital they reach it, he didn't know why or how a tent would help, but reaching it would make everything better. His hand outstretched, fingertips inches from grasping the fabric, the blonde let out a long string of swearing as someone clamped a hand around his shoulder, instantly apparating them both out.

Mia's lungs burnt rapidly, her eyes shutting tightly, the apparition seeming to go on even longer the second time around, and once her feet touched solid ground- the rest of her body following and landing in a heap, she took in gasps of much needed oxygen. They were back at the manor, but not in a room the non Malfoy recognised. Narcissa stood beside Draco, her hair messy and out of place, yet she still managed to look regal. Draco on the other hand was also sprawled out over the floor coughing, his swearing whilst apparating not going down too well. The eldest Malfoy leant down, helping her son up to his feet, before ordering a house elf to get a glass of water and retreating out of the room. Mia waited until they were alone, still not wanting to try and sit up yet.

"What just happened?" she questioned, her breathing still coming in short breaths. The blonde merely shook his head however, not wishing to talk about the events, at least for tonight.

**A/N: Well, Well. It's been a while. Sorry about that, but with Christmas and exams coming up... It may around 2 weeks before another chapter comes up. Anyway, it's been a year since the first chapter got put up on here! Who's been here from the beginning eh? Thank you, all of you who are still here reading, this is still going on because of you amazing fans.**

**Can we make it to 100 reviews before the 40****th**** chapter gets put up? That's my goal Z-Nugget xx**

**EDIT: Ok, I added some to this chapter, just a bit more detail really as I reread it and realised how rushed it seemed. Hope this is better x**


	40. Mood Changes

The events of the quidditch world cup weren't spoken for the rest of the night, nor the day after when they were packing their trunks ready to go back to Hogwarts.  
But when they stepped onto platform 9 3/4 it was hard not to mention. Every other person had a newspaper of the daily profit, which detailed the night along with a huge picture of the dark mark on the front. Mia shuddered as she saw a close up of it, although she'd seen it that many times it was etched into the back of her mind.  
Both teenagers boarded the train, walking down to the Slytherin compartment in silence. It wasn't awkward, but gave off a lonely undertone that neither seemed to happy about. Part of Mia wanted to leave straight away, before they even entered the compartment and run to find Ginny, mainly to check non of them had been hurt. But right now she was still worried of Draco's rapid mood changes. Aside from the other night, when blind panic had obviously taken over his rationality, the blonde had barely even been friendly to her. So she waited until the train started moving, and then waited exactly half an hour before muttering something about needing the toilet and leaving the compartment. The conversation had been dull at best, with small talk about the up coming year and what could be install. Ok, so she wasn't happy leaving him Pansy's clutches, but finding out about the Weasleys was nagging at her so much and becoming unbearable.  
So with that, Mia padded down the train, waiting until she reached the Gryffindor compartments before slowing down and heightening her search. She began to check each carriage she passed, inconspicuously glancing through the window to try and see a mop of red hair. Several people shot glares back in response to the flash of green robe, but she chose to ignore them. Thankfully in the 4th carriage she tried, Ginny was sat having a discussion with a fellow Gryffindor in her year that the Slytherin didn't recognise. But as soon as Mia opened the slide door they both stopped mid word. The smile that had began to form on her features disappeared at the look of disgust her friend was giving.  
"I wondered if you were all ok and got out after the world cup" she explained, hoping it would show she did care and change Ginny's expression. It didn't.  
"why does it matter to you?" alright, that hurt. Frowning she crossed her arms over her chest, standing her ground in the doorway.  
"because you're my friends and I was worried?"  
"oh because you seemed so friendly with us when you were with Malfoy" the venom in her friends voice stung, as did seeing her spread out over the free seat to make it clear Mia couldn't join them. The brunette opened her mouth to respond, but realised Ginny was right. She hadn't stood up for any of them. She deserved this right now. With that realisation she nodded, hoping her friend would some day understand and not stay mad at her for too long. Well, that could have gone better.  
She went past witch with the trolley on her way back, buying a liquirish wand, chewing on it as she headed back. There was no real way that she could explain herself to Ginny. For one thing she didn't entirely know why she'd acted that way. But at the time trying to get back into Draco's good books had been more important than sticking up for her friends. Something really wasn't right there. Especially considering such an unknown mystery.  
Just before she left the Gryffindor carriage two identical boys appeared at one of the doors, giving Mia the impression they'd been watching her.  
"little sister's really not happy with you" George said, shaking his head. Mia sighed, knowing that all too well.  
"I only tried to see if all of you were ok and she practically bit my head off"  
"I don't blame her" Fred said, before holding his hands up in a surrendering position. "I mean we don't feel that same," he explained quickly at the accusing look she was now giving him.  
"a little disappointed in you maybe" The other twin offered whilst shrugging.  
"but we don't hate you, I could never hate you" Fred finished giving her a wink before turning around and going back into the compartment, George following. Their comments had probably been made to make her feel better, but it really hadnt worked. In fact she felt worse now than after having just Ginny reveal how she felt towards her. It certainly wasn't easy to get the twins disappointed in anyway, and Mia had really outdone herself accomplishing that one.  
Sighing again she gave up, finally going back to her own compartment, wondering if Draco had assumed she'd fallen down the toilet with the amount of time she had been gone.

**A/N: I know I haven't updated in a while, but my exams are over now so the next chapter shouldn't take too long to get up. Sorry this one isn't too long, I never know what to write when it's just the train journey. Still waiting for my 100'th review! Z-Nugget xx**


	41. Eternal Glory

They arrived at Hogwarts without Mia paying any attention to the conversation going on, be that on the train or the horseless carriages. Her mind was simply elsewhere. In fact the only time she was brought back to reality was when everyone was stood outside around the courtyard, cramming themselves into the tiny spaces that resembled glassless windows. . She was with a group of 12 Slytherins, and watched amazed as a carriage pulled by six flying horses appeared in the sky, nearly running Hagrid over as it landed, who had to dive out of the way at the last minute. Why it was so strange to see was anyone's guess, magic was a daily thing after all, but it was still her first time at seeing a flying horse. Most people around laughed, including herself, yet it died away changing into more amazement as a ship became visible from the lake nearby. Well, at first it was just a mast with one person stood on it, then a huge ship rose up out of the water. It was magnificent, made of an old rich dark wood, sections painted red and an unfamiliar crest in the sail that presumably represented its school. At least she guessed it was a school, knowing Hogwarts, it could be anything.

Eventually after much ushering from professor Flittwick, who may be small but sure new how to kick shins of people not moving quick enough, everyone went inside to the great hall, taking seats at their house table and watching the sorting ceremony. The newly made 4th year didn't pay much attention to that either, the whole thing becoming far too familiar, and only snapped out of her dream like state when Dumbledore began speaking.

"Now we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement, this castle will not only be your home this year, but also to some very special guests." Filch running, or rather limping in cut him off however, the squib muttering something to the headmaster before going back town the tables, exiting the hall. Several people laughed at the sight, though she managed to keep a straight face at least. "So, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event, the triwizard tournament-" Mia glanced up at Draco; who was at next to her, but he didn't seem very interested, unlike the twins who were looking at the head teacher with awe clear on their identical faces. "For those of you who do not know, the triwizard tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single student is selected". So that's who had been in the carriage and boat. To show this Dumbledore held up one finger. "Now, let me be clear, chosen, you stand alone. Trust me when I say, these contests are not for the faint hearted. But for now, please join me in welcoming these lovely ladies from Beaux Batons academy of magic!." All eyes turned towards the doors just in time to see 20 or so girls all dressed in light blue dresses reaching just below their knees, sauntering up to the front. They were in perfect lines of 4 and stopped after every few steps to lean towards the side, mainly where any boys were sitting, birds fluttering out from their sleeves and around their heads. Mia wanted to be sick. Once they had made their way up to the front- one girl dressed in a red and silver leotard doing flips, they bowed together, walking off to sit down. Their headmistress was a giant. Literally, easily taller than Hagrid, who looked away shyly when she smiled. Dumbledore holding up his hands cut off the applause and cheering that had broken out (mostly from the males).

"Now, for our friends from the north, please meet the proud sons from Durmstrang and their high master; Egor Karkaroff." All heads turned once more, this time to the loud thumping of sticks banging rhythmically on the floor. There were sparks each time one collided, and the Mia found herself on the verge of standing up to get a better view. Suddenly, as if bored with the banging, they all sprinted forward down the hall, several doing flips of kicks, as if just to show off their athletic ability. It wasn't like it was already obvious from their obvious muscles. But her attention was drawn back to the double doors as who she could guess was their headmaster, dressed in a white Norwegian styled coat and Victor Krum strided in. Fire was blown at the front, several gasps being heard from Hogwarts students who couldn't believe what the new year was holding, and the 4th year didn't know where to look, instead waiting for Krum to join his school and everyone be seated again.

The meal passed quickly, most of the hall talking excitedly about the tri wizard tournament, and stories they'd heard from years ago about it when it was still running. Apparently this was the first time in over 100 years that it had been brought back, the previous one being deemed as 'too dangerous'. Or at least that's what Blaze was saying one seat across, whilst stuffing his face on a chicken leg. Mia didn't eat much however, nor did she really join in with the conversation, only saying a few words here and there. Instead she was watching Draco- subtly of course, noticing that he too wasn't eating or talking much either. Something must really be on his mind.

"Your attention please" Dumbledore called, and it was only then that she noticed a strange statue being strange statue had been appeared at the front of the hall, obviously being carried in when she'd been preoccupied. "I'd like to say a few words," he paused, waiting for the hall to fall into silence. "Eternal glory. That is what awaits the student that survives three tasks, extremely dangerous tasks." The word 'survived' didn't really fill Mia with much confidence. "For this reason, the ministry has seen fit to put in a new rule, of which Mr Bartimus Crouch will explain". A middle aged man, with receding, greying hair and a thick moustache made his way to the front, but ducked as lightning and thunder started to crash over the enchanted ceiling. Mia ducked as well, more from instinct than fear though, not feeling the need to scream like half the girls in the hall suddenly were- Pansy included. She wanted to slap her silly. Thankfully someone shot a spell up, the sky returning back to normal, and everyone swivelled around the back once more. A man, she was sure had been on the daily prophet at some point was now walking towards Dumbledore, a stick- that looked more like a tree branch, under his right arm to help him walk. The hall broke out in sudden whispers, and the brunette caught the name 'mad eye moody' from a boy sitting several seats down who was failing at keeping his voice low. Even all the teachers were staring. Moody gripped Dumbledore's arm, mostly friendly w, when he reached him, muttering something about the ceiling, then going to stand in the corner. That's when Barty Crouch decided to take back control, speaking loudly.

"The ministry had decided that for their own safety, no student under the age of 17 shall be allowed to put fourth their name." At least half the hall exploded into up roar, mostly led by Fred and George yelling 'Rubbish' at the top of their lungs. Dumbledore shouting

"SILENCE!" Cut everyone off however, everyone now watching him without a word. With one swift movement, the head master pressed his wand against the statue, which seemed to sink in on itself, leaving a dark brown, almost rusty looking goblet in its place, bright blue flames shooting out of it. "The goblet of fire" he started to explain, Mia wanting to commend it on the imaginative name. "Anyone wishing to enter the tournament merely write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it into the flame before this hour on Thursday night. But do not do so lightly, if chosen, there's no turning back. As from this moment, the triwizard tournament has begun!"

ZNZNZN

Mia could hear the twins still complaining as they all finally exited the great hall, after looking at the goblet for a full five minutes. She slowed down, letting the Slytherin's carry on without her and dropped into step with the twins. Ginny was slightly behind glaring at her back.

"You two got a plan?" the brunette guessed, looking up at the twin who was closest- George for a change, though Fred was soon on her other side.

"Of course Lestrange" she elbowed Fred, wishing he'd use her fist name for a change. He pretended to be hurt, but a grin broke out seconds after.

"We have many plans" the other said, jumping onto a staircase and waiting for it to move, Fred nodded leaning in closer to her,

"And some even involve you" he said, the grin widening as he joined his brother, the staircase moving up. Worry and slight panic shot through her at that, just the thought of being involved in onr of their crazy plans enough to give her nightmares.

Turning, her hands sinking into the pockets of her robe, Mia walked down to the dungeons alone. The chill was horrid, and certainly not something she had missed over the holiday, so she quickly mumbled the password once she'd reached the common room entrance, running up the stairs to Draco's room and knocking once on the door. She sat down on the bed, her eyes scanning the room. There was no music playing this year, and if it hadn't been for her trunk visible at the end of the bed, she would've thought it was the wrong room. Draco was nowhere to be found. Mia stayed sat on the bed, grabbing a book off the side and began reading, determined to stay up until the blonde returned, much like a child on Christmas eve waiting for Santa. But Santa didn't come. At least not whilst she could hold out from sleep.

**A/N: 2 more reviews and I've reached 100! Woow! Whoever posts the 100****th**** review will be sent part of a later chapter (providing they want it of course, just add that in with it), with some interesting twists just for them to know, at least for a few months. :P Even if you miss the 100****th****, still leave a comment! Z-Nugget xx**


	42. Min Skjønnhet

Mia awoke under the covers of the double bed, still in her uniform, though her robe was now folded neatly beside her. She frowned sure she hadn't fallen asleep like. Shrugging, the fourth year sat up, pushing the duvet off and peering around. A sleeping form was in the bed opposite, a tuft of white hair sticking out being the only clue to who it was. She had no idea where he'd been or what he'd been doing, and had fallen asleep before he'd gotten back.

She showered quickly, getting dressed into a clean uniform and tying her dark wavy hair into a braid before leaving the bathroom. Draco was still asleep, so after throwing a show at him and listening to the curse of response, Mia left him to it, padding out of the room, through the crowded common room, past the dungeons and up the stairs to the great hall. She stopped in her tracks once reaching the double door at the sight unfolding however. There were still four h8ge oak tables, but Gryffindor's seemed to have joined up with Ravenclaws, all huddled around one table, whilst several Hufflepuffs buzzed around them. Only the Slytherins were sat alone at their allocated table. The two free tables were filled with Beaux Batons and Durmstrang students, laughing and talking with their own groups. Not wishing to really stand out too much, the brunette weaved through groups, smiling back at five muscled Durmstrang boys.

"Min Skjønnhet" one of them called, the language too foreign for her to even attempt at translating, and instead just offered another smile over her shoulder before sitting down at the Slytherin table.

Draco didn't make an appearance during breakfast, and Mia worried he was still sleeping as she walked to her defence against the dark arts class. Thankfully she noticed the tall blonde lounging against the door.

"Where the hell have you been?" she demanded, standing in front of him. He just shrugged as response. "And where were you last night? She was starting to feel like his mother, which wasn't helped by the second shrug he gave. Mia let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand along her braid. Why did he have to be so difficult? The door opened magically before she could ask another question, and instead chocked back a laugh as Draco stumbled backwards. Everyone else pretended not to notice as they went in, taking their seats and waiting for class to begin in relatively silence.

"Alistair Moody" he had walked in- or rather limped in, demanding attention immediately. "Ex auror, and your next defence against the dark arts teacher". His voice was gruff as he wrote on black board. "I am here because Dumbledore asked me, end of story, good bye. The end." Mia's eyebrows shot up slightly as she listened to him, quite certain he was in fact mad. Did Dumbledore not believe in a normal defence teacher? Ever? "When it comes to the ark arts, I believe in a practical approach." Several people risked a glance at the Slytherin still remembering what had happened two years ago with the last 'practical approach', though she chose to ignore them all and keep her eyes straight. "First, which of you can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?"

"Three sir" Hermione said before anyone else could even think about the question.

"And they are so named, why?"

"Because they are unforgivable. To use one will-"Moody cut her off, his writing on the board getting faster and more aggressive

"Earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban. Correct! Now the ministry saves you're too young to see what these curses do," Mia had to agree with the ministry there. She had no desire to see someone being tortured, killed or whatever else. "I say differently" oh, what a surprise! "you need to know what you're up against, you need to be prepared, and you need to find another place to put your chewing gum besides the underside of your desk Mr Finnegan!" everyone turned to look at him, some in shock considering Mood hadn't turned away from the board. Shamus began to mutter something, but stopped as the 'teacher' the term being used loosely, threw the piece of chalk art him. "Weasley!" he barked, causing everyone to look back to the front.

"Yes?" Ron asked, his voice shaking slightly. Draco smirked. Mia elbowed him lightly under the table.

"Stand" Ron stood slowly, fear evident on his face. What was he expecting? Moody to test a curse out on him in front of everyone? Then again…"Give me a curse" the whole room seemed to hold their breath in anticipation, wondering what would happen if he couldn't.

"Well," he began, his voice fully cracking this time. "My dad did tell me about one… the imperious curse."

"Oh yes, your father would know all about that, gave the ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago…" he trailed off, possible reliving the memory, his false eye- that was incredibly creepy, moving rapidly. "Perhaps this will show you why" he turned, walking over to the glass jars on his desk and taking out a spider. Mia bit down on her lip, not too keen on them at the best of times, and this one certainly wasn't small, or the best of times. "Imperio!" Moody said, pointing his wand at it then forcing it to move onto a desk. By the time he'd flicked it at Crab's head, Mia's was having a hard time not laughing, watching the dog squirm was hilarious. Though not as god as Ron's face was when the spider hovered over his head, like it were tap dancing. Moody's laugh was veering on demonic. Draco seemed to find it funny too, a sneer more than a laugh parting his lips, of which caught Moody's attention. "What are you laughing at?" he demanded, sending the spider at his face. The blonde whimpered, but Mia had already jumped out of her seat, taking several steps back. She only sat down again when the spider was hanging over a cup of water, far from them. "What shall I have her do next? Drown herself?" it struggled over the water, but was unable to free itself. Finally he brought it back to sit on his hand. "Thousands of witches and wizards claimed they only did you know who's bidding, because they were under the influence of the imperious curse. But here's the problem. How do we sort out the liars?" no one in the class could answered that, hell even the ministry couldn't answer that! "Another!" Moody shouted, waiting for most of the class to raise their hands, including Mia. Of course she knew one. It closely resembled what she'd used on Lockhart, Tonks and almost Draco several months ago, he didn't pick her for an answer however, pointing to Neville instead who stood up.

"Professor Sprout tells me you have a knack for herbology" Neville nodded, smiling slightly, but it disappeared as he spoke.

"There's the erm… the cruciartus curse".

"Correct! Come, come" he ushered Neville- who was looking more and more uncomfortable by the second, to his desk where the spider was placed. "The torture curse. Crucio!" Mia couldn't watch, her eyes darting to the wooden floor boards. She could hear Neville's sounds of distress, which seemed to make the whole thing worse. Shutting her eyes didn't even help. Cold fingers brushing hers did distract her slightly however, and she gratefully entwined her fingers within Draco's.

"Stop it!" Hermione shouted suddenly, and the blonde pulled his hand away instinctively. "Can't you see it's bothering him? Stop it!" Moody finally looked up, taking in Neville's traumatised expression and moved his wand, stopping the spell. He picked up the spider and [laced it on Hermione's books.

"Perhaps you could give us the last unforgivable curse miss Granger?" the muggleborn shook her head, looking close to tears. Mia's eyes were still on the floor, knowing what was about to come. "Avada Kedavra!" A flash of green light left Moody's wand and hit the spider, making it go motionless and gold in on itself. Dead. "The killing curse" he explained to anyone who hadn't realised. "Only one person is known to have survived it, and he's sitting in this very room." He walked over to Harry, who refused to look up at first, as if embarrassed by his 'fame'. Moody took a swig from a flask he kept in his pocket, and although the Slytherin had no idea what it was, she was sure it wasn't pumpkin juice.

The class ended not long after, everyone hurrying out quickly, not wanting to be the last in the room with Moody.

"That was horrible" Mia muttered as they walked down the winding staircase, offering Neville an apologetic look as they passed him. He was stood, stoic and staring out the stained glass window, even Draco9 didn't mock him and carried on walking.

**A/N: I've had over 100 reviews! It's been just over a year since this story was first published on here, and that had made me so incredibly happy. The winner was sent part of a later chapter, and the comment I got back was good, so I'm pretty sure the rest of you will find the events of the next year interesting as well. Keep reviewing though! Just because I've reached 100 in no way means you should stop. And if I have to bride you lot to get more reviews I will! The more that I get the quicker these chapters will get put up :P that should be incentive enough. Z-Nugget xx**


	43. We're identical twins!

Mia sat in the great hall, several days after the defence against the dark arts lesson; of which Draco was still complaining about at every opportunity. Apparently he was as found of spiders as she were. She was alone at one of the benches now though- not by choice as such, she was going to ask the blonde to join her, or do something else entirely if he so desired, but after their charms lesson had finished this morning, he'd all but ran out of the classroom without so much as a goodbye. It was the same every evening too, he'd disappear after eating tea in the great hall, and no matter how late Mia waited, he never returned until after she was asleep. It was almost as if he were avoiding her.

Sighing she looked back at the goblet, watching others place their names into it, certain they must all be crazy. Even if she were old enough, there was no way her name would be in that cup. All the money in the world wouldn't be worth the many painful ways one could die in that competition. A blue glowing ring had been drawn around it by Dumbledore, to try and stop anyone underage from entering. Not that that would discourage Fred and George. Both came running into the hall cheering, causing Mia to stand and meet them halfway.

"Cooked it up just this morning" George was saying to the crowd as his twin put his arm over the brunettes shoulder. She looked up at him raising an eyebrow, but wasn't bothered enough to complain. It was nice to be wanted for a change. She was too intrigued with what they'd 'cooked up' and how it would fail anyway, which it was bound to.

"It's not going to work" Hermione said in a sing-song voice. She was sat at the opposite side of the hall, a book in her lap and her messy hair tucked behind her ears.

"I have to agree" Mia chimed in, lightly pushing Fred's arm away. He shrugged, going to Hermione's side, with George on the other. The circle was drawn by Dumbledore, who was clearly smarter than either twin, no matter what delusion they were under. This was exactly what the muggleborn went on to explain. Not that it would help in any way.

"Ah, but that's why it's so brilliant" Fred explained, walking into a clear space, though to do what was still unknown. At least until he took a small glass bottle out of his cloak. Presumably it was an aging potion. It wouldn't have taken too long to make, or taken too much intelligence, just following the instructions really. Then again, that wasn't something either twin would be used to.

"Because it's so dim-witted" Well, she had to hand it to them. Yes, it was incredibly stupid and 'dim-witted', and ok, surely Dumbledore wouldn't be fooled by such but the logic was still there. Slightly. George went to stand by his brother, Mia watching on in scepticism. They gave the small vials they were holding a shake, grinning at one another.

"Ready Fred?"

"Ready George!" they linked their arms through one another, both saying 'Bottoms up', then drinking both before jumping down into the circle. She half expected them to hit an invisible brick wall and slide down to a heap on the floor, and was slightly disappointed when that didn't happen. It would have been quite funny to say the least. Instead they stood inside the blue line, seeming shocked that it had worked as well. The crowd that had gathered around them all started cheering, although she still wasn't convinced. It looked too easy. They stretched up, throwing two pieces of parchment which presumably contained their scribbled names into the fire, but almost instantly were hit by electric blue flames, sending them flying backwards. The Slytherin gasped, her hands cupping her mouth as she took a step forward before bursting into laughter at the sight, all worry dispersing. The previous red heads now looked like old men, with grey hair and long white beards. They looked down at themselves, then each other, before jumping on the other twin and rolling around on the floor.

"You said it would work!" they shouted at one another, the room still full of laughter. Ron was now at the front of the group, making no attempt to break up his brothers fight. In fact he was acting like this was the sort of thing he saw daily, yet still found hilarious. Living with the Weasley's never would be dull to say the least. Everything went quiet within seconds, even the twins stopped and looked up when several Durmstrang students entered. Victor Krum and his headmaster strided up to the goblet, Krum placing red parchment into it, his eyes lingering on Hermione as he did so. No one clapped or cheered or even booed in a good hearted way, and talking, or rather hushed whisper didn't restart until they had left the hall.

Mia approached the twins, who had both gotten up off the floor and were now hobbling towards the doors.

"I told you so" she couldn't resist, or hold back the smugness in her voice. Fred grinned,

"At least I'm still good looking as an old man" she didn't have it in her to disagree, George did however.

"You weren't too good beforehand" he said, giving his brother a light shove, that nearly sent them both toppling to the ground.

"We're identical twins!" Fred argued, "You've just insulted yourself"

"I'm the better looking twin" they continued to argue all the way up toe the infirmary, where a bemused Madam Pomfry sorted them out.

**A/N: It's short I guess, sorry, but for some reason this chapter's taken some doing. I just wasn't in the writing mood :/ I felt bad for not uploading in a while though. Enjoy anyway, Z-Nugget xx**


	44. I Could Win

Everyone was sat in the great hall, which included all four Hogwarts houses, the beaux batons girls and the Durmstrang students. It was squished, with twice as many people sat on the wooden benches as normal, but at least no one would be missing out. Mia was sat with the Slytherin's, Draco on one side and Blaise Zabini; who was sitting far too close, on the other. She still hadn't been able to get the blonde on his own, and whatever he was doing after the last lesson of the day was still a mystery. Maybe she could corner him as they walked back after this? Or try a spell... ok, that could be going slightly too far. Possibly...

"Now the moment you've all been waiting for," Dumbledore called out catching everyone's attention immediately. "Champion selection!" He lifted his arm, slowly moving his wand around the room and dimming all of the torches, before slowly walking towards the goblet of fire, his right hand now extended and open. The flames turned a bright shade of crimson and threw out a piece of parchment which Dumbledore easily caught. "The Durmstrang champion is, Victor Krum" All the foreign students clapped, obviously the outcome they were hoping for and Mia watched as Krum stood, grinning around at everyone, loving the attention. Then again, he was a world renown quidditch star, this wasn't anywhere near the amount he was used to.

"Like anyone from Hogwart's is going to beat him" She heard Draco mutter, wondering if she misheard the smugness in his voice.

"I could win" she whispered back, grinning. She didn't mean it, of course not, but it did receive a sideways glance and rare smile from the blonde, which was the main reason for it in the first place. By the time she looked back at the Goblet, Krum had already walked off into the champions' room and the flames had turned red again. A delicate piece of parchment was flicked out; slowly floating down to the old man's hand. He paused for several seconds, either to draw suspense or his eye sight was that bad it took him a while to read it.

"The champion from beaux batons, is Fleur Delacour" There was more clapping as a young, slim, blonde girl stood up and made her way to the front. Well she certainly didn't look like a winner, if anything she resembled more of a princess, showing poise and elegance. But the Beaux Baton's girls seemed to think she was a worthy champion, and all looked extremely pleased with themselves. Then again, looks could be deceiving. The girl in blue shook Dumbledore's hand, smiling at her headmistress, who was still getting little nervous glances off Hagrid, and went to join Krum in the winners' room.

"And the Hogwarts champion," The headmaster said, waiting to receive the parchment, "Is Cedric Diggory!" All the Hogwarts students erupted into applause, some cheering and whistling in delight. Maybe Draco was wrong and they would stand an actual chance at winning, from what she knew Cedric was top of his classes when it came to spells, that had to count for something. "Silence!" the applause stopped instantly as everyone say back down, smiles on most faces as Cedric hurried off to meet the other two champions. "We now have all our champions, but in the end only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory, the tri wizard cup!" Whilst he was speaking, Barty Crouch had carried an object under a sheet into the hall and placed it on the main table at the front, but now the sheet went flying off to reveal a beautiful silver glass cup which glowed a bright shade of blue, giving off a ghostly mystical atmosphere. Before it could be admired properly though the electric blue flames of the goblet started to wiz around the sorting cup, turning a bright shade of red again and producing another name.

"_Mia Lestrange" Dumbledore whispered, every head snapped up and towards the brunette. _

"_What?" She looked panic flooding her, sure she'd misheard. He hadn't said her name. No, that was wrong. It had to be. She was too young. Far too young! She hadn't put her name in there! This competition was for psycho's who had a death wish. She'd be killed! But Draco was already shoving her forward to the front a horrible smirk on his features as he did so,_

"_Go on then, win!" He teased before giving her a harder push that sent her almost toppling over. What was he doing? He should be helping to hide her not get all the attention in that direction._

"_I can't win!" she protested, trying to reach out for his hand but he'd already disappeared. "Draco!" she shouted, "Help!" But now everyone was fading._

Snapping out of her daydream, the Slytherin looked about confused. No, that hadn't been her name that had been called, for one thing Draco was still sat down and showing no intention of moving her forwards. Though there was that smirk on his face. Harry was being pushed forward by Hermione, she realised, and no one was clapping. In fact the whole room seemed to have gone silent, most people not even daring to breath. Harry lurched to the front, taking the parchment with his name on it, standing still for several moments as if not understanding what was going on, then walked to the champions' room.

"He's a cheat!" Pansy called out, and for once Mia couldn't disagree. How else would he have gotten his name in that goblet? The circle that had been drawn obvious worked considering what had happened to the twins. Maybe he got one of the older students to put it in for him. Then again, why hadn't the twins tried that? It couldn't have been that simple. Only a powerful magician would have been able to get Potter's name in there... All three head teachers rushed in after the four students, along with several of the Hogwarts staff, their shouting getting drowned out by everyone else's sudden chattering.

"He's going to get killed!" Mia couldn't resist rolling her eyes as she turned her head to look at Draco disapprovingly, the glee in his voice far too evident.

"This is serious" She scolded, standing up off the bench and walking down towards the crowd.

"I know" He still looked extremely happy. Sighing, she gave up on the topic, noting that it really was a hopeless cause.

**A/N: We're starting to get somewhere with the triwizard tournament now! I have a question for you readers though, what actress/musician/famous person/someone you know/model etc do you think most looks light Mia? Leave a review with your thoughts! Z-Nugget xx**


	45. Cheetahs And Ferrets

A/N: I want to see if I like it, but for this chapter at least anything in ~ ...~ are the characters thoughts, so ~you know that~ is Mia's thought of something for example. I just want to see if I prefer the style to putting 'she thought' at the end or something. Just leave a review if you're confused or if you don't like it so I can get your opinion!

"I think you got off pretty easily" she commented after several seconds had passed. "At least it wasn't a toad or something" Draco turned his head slowly in her direction, glowering, not finding it remotely funny. In fact, he'd be lucky to not be traumatised!  
"Potter laughed at me" he hissed, walking over to the door and kicking it.  
"And I'm pretty sure the door didn't laugh, so it doesn't deserve to be abused"  
_~Although it probably would have if it wasn't inanimate~  
_She tried to keep a stern voice, but it really wasn't working. What did it matter if Harry laughed? She would've laughed too if she'd been there. Then again, that probably wouldn't have made him feel any better. The brunette stood up, joining the other beside the door. "Moody's a crazy old wizard who probably does that to loads of people," she rested a hand lightly on his shoulder, half surprised when he didn't flinch away. She had no idea what was prompting his mood changes and the idea of him being schizophrenic once again struck her. The blonde let out a shaky sigh, the first real sign of how much the incident had affected him. It wasn't so much that he'd been turned into a ferret that was a problem, hell that had just been weird considering for several worrying seconds all he'd wanted to do was find a warm place and bury away, but Potter had been there. Potter had had the nerve to laugh! That news couldn't reach his father. The idea of it would make Lucius angry, let alone the reality. No. This was bad. Though not as bad as the comforting feeling Mia's hand was bringing.  
"Don't you have a class?" he asked, stepping out of her reach and going back to a shelf, pretending to be interested by one of the books. Mia blinked wondering what had gone on in his head.  
"No, it's 4pm" she answered.  
_~You know I don't, what are you playing at?~_  
The brunette followed him, but refrained from touching his shoulder this time. Was he genuinely confused about why she was there, or just trying to get rid of her?

"Draco?" he didn't turn around, and whatever book he was looking at was obviously doing a better job at holding his interest. "Don't make me start using the nickname 'Ferret'" she warned. It worked at least.  
"Don't you dare" his voice had dropped several octaves and taken on a threatening tone to the point that the younger wasn't sure how much was joking and how much was real.  
"Then try talking to me ferret boy" she had to dodge a swipe of his arm that had been aimed for her head but it was worth it. "I thought they were quite co ordinate animals?" the past weeks had been far too tense for any kind of teasing or joking, but whatever wall had been built between the two now started to crumble as Mia ran behind the side of bed, grinning over at the blonde on the other side.  
"If I'm a ferret what the hell are you?" he dived across the bed, causing the other the back step quickly towards the bedroom door, yanking it open and proceed down the stairs two at a time. Draco scrambled up, his earlier dive throwing his balance slightly as he pursued. He wanted to at least appear annoyed as he sped through the castle after the laughing brunette, but a smile was creeping too his features. She was faster than him, though her bursts of speed only held for several seconds. People were generally stepping to the sides as they ran around the corners, not wanting to be caught in the race, an the ones who stood watching were easily dodged thanks to the quidditch players agility.  
"What makes you think I'm any kind of animal?" Mia questioned over her shoulder as she skidded to a stop in the now empty courtyard. The wind was out in full force today, so all the students, including the Durmstrang boys who were used to terrible conditions were huddled inside the castle.  
"Some kind of cat" he commented, stopping a few meters in front of her. "Big cat" he amended as she shot him a sceptical look. "Maybe a cheetah, your fast but can't keep it up, and you're scary as hell when pissed off" the brunette opened her mouth to argue but realised he really wasn't that far off.  
"And how well do cheetahs and ferrets get on?"  
_~I hope it's better than we have recently~_  
She kept eye contact with the blonde, though was secretly trying to plan an escape route. If he advanced forward any further she'd end up getting wedged against a wall. Then again...  
"I don't think they're meant to" he muttered wearily, the smile fading slightly. Whether he was on about the metaphor or the two themselves she wasn't sure. Mia shrugged, fidgeting from foot to foot, disliking the sudden drop in mood. Ok, she could see where he was coming from that they probably weren't meant to be friends, but somewhere along the way they had and she didn't want that to change.  
"Well I think they do" the blonde blinked at the matter-of-fact way she'd said it, momentarily catching him off guard. He'd almost forgotten how stubborn she could be when backed into a corner. Speaking of corners.. Draco took another predatory like step forward, watching as the beater backed up.  
"Where are you expecting to run to?" he asked trying to hide a smile when she made another run for it, catching her around the waist. "That didn't work very well did it" he murmured, a sly smirk covering his features as he gazed down at the brunette. Mia met his eyes, trying to look as innocent and doe eyed as possible.  
"Re-do?" she gave a squeak, trying to squirm out of his grasp as he tickled her, but his strength was easily holding her in place. "Stop!" she screamed still struggling, though the laugher in her voice suggested otherwise. She didn't really want him to but at the same time being unable to catch a breath wasn't really a good option.  
Thankfully he did stop the assault and dropped his hands, letting her gasp in oxygen whilst glaring at him. "Uncalled for" he merely shrugged, stretching his arms up over his head. Personally he thought it was a very reasonable reaction and stopping when he had had been more than kind. He knew she didn't really mind it anyway. The older Slytherin brushed his hair out of his eyes, muttering a curse argue wind.  
"Come on" he said once the others breathing had returned to a regular rhythm, the idea of staying out in this weather any longer not too appealing. The brunette stood upright, glancing around before nodding. Nobody appeared to have paid any attention to the two Slytherins, which was probably for the best in Draco's opinion.  
"Ok" she agreed, pushing her own hair back and heading into the castle again. No, it wasn't too fun staying out there with the wind whipping at the back of her neck.


	46. Poise and Elegance

**A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to get up, Thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter**

**Z-Nugget xx**

Mia sat in what would have been a potions class, her eyes glazed over as she listened to Snape. The lesson itself had been cancelled. In fact every lesson this period had been cancelled and every student was now in an allocated hall with their house. It was slightly cramped considering there had to be a big enough 'dancing' space left in the middle of the room, so all of Slytherin house was currently pinned against the walls whilst trying to figure out how the potions master was going to give a ballroom class.

"You will be expected to dance, showing poise and elegance" he threw a disdainful look at Crabbe and Goyle, the concept of either showing any amount of poise or elegance truly laughable. Which was exactly what Mia did. Of course she tried to do the very cliché thing of covering it up with a cough, but it had still caused too much unwanted attention. "Ah, miss Lestrange. Thank you for volunteering" she started, looking up. Since when had laughing- or coughing for that matter classed as volunteering? She couldn't dance; she'd be laughed at by everyone! Yet somehow that still wasn't the biggest problem right now. No, Snape as a dance partner was easily winning.

"With y-you?" she stuttered, trying to keep the disgust off her features but the mental image of having to put her hands on his shoulders. It took all of her self control not to shudder.

"Don't be ridiculous" he snapped his black eyes briefly widening, apparently the thought wasn't so great for him either. "Mr Malfoy will be your partner" Ok, so maybe they were stood beside one another, but that hardly meant either wanted to be used as demonstration.

"I really don't think..." the protest died half way through due to the look Snape was giving her. At least Draco knew how to dance, she was sure he'd mentioned ballroom lessons.. This should be easy! The blonde pushed himself forward off of the wall he'd been lounging against, slowly striding into the centre of the room with Mia in toe.

Face to face he was roughly four inches taller than the younger Slytherin, her head having to tilt upwards to meet his eyes. She lifted one arm up, placing her left hand on his shoulder, whilst he took hold of her free one, entwining their fingers, his other resting lightly on her waist.

"I trust you know the basics" both teenagers glanced, or rather glared in Draco's case at their head of house positive they'd heard a mocking undertone to his voice. Of course Draco Malfoy knew how to dance. And he wasn't about to let Mia humiliate herself in front of ¼ of the school either.

"Follow my lead" he muttered to her as the music started playing, taking a step backwards with his right foot which thankfully she mirrored. It took her almost a minute, but she managed to pick up the steps and soon trusted herself enough to not have to look down at their feet permanently. They were gliding around the floor, several of the Slytherin's looking on with awe at how effortless the two were making it appear. Then again, Mia was pretty amazed that she hadn't stumbled yet. In fact it all seemed to be going well until the music sped up. The brunettes' eyes widened slightly at the thought of trying to pick up a faster routine, but Draco's hand squeezing hers briefly was oddly comforting. His steps started to become faster and more complicated, all of her focus going onto keeping up and not falling over. she risked a fleeting look up at Draco, deep green orbs meeting stormy grey which hadn't left hers from the beginning. He released her waist, spinning her out suddenly, dark waves of hair momentarily covering her vision before he pulled her back, her free hand bracing itself against his chest only to be snatched back up again. They were flying over the floor now, not gliding yet somehow the rapid movements were still appearing graceful, Mia performing moves she really hadn't thought possible.

Part of her wanted to stop, the horrible sensation of dancing In front of the whole house terrifying, but the naturalness of being in Draco's arms was slowly winning out. He pulled her close, sliding his hand teasingly slow down to her lower back then dipping her backwards just as the music ended. They were both breathless, the blondes face mere inches from here and for one wild moment Mia was sure he was going to kiss her again. But then the whole atmosphere was shattered by a smirking voice to the side.

"Very extravagant Mr. Malfoy" Draco finally tore his eyes from the fourth years, lifting her back up right, his hand lingering on the small of her back for several torturous seconds before he stepped away. She could still feel everyone's eyes on her, heat rising to her normally pale cheeks.

~Act natural. It was just instructed dancing that actually went far better than I expected. No one laughed. I can feel myself going red. This isn't good. Not good one bit. Breath. Breath!~

By the time she did remember how to take in oxygen other people were now gathering in the middle space and trying to get partners, whilst Draco was giving the brunette a curious look. She shook her head, explaining being the last thing she wanted to do.

"Need to get a drink" she mumbled, slipping through the crowd and out of the hall. The blonde kept his eyebrow raised for several more seconds before shaking his head.

~And she has the nerve to call me strange~

He grinned to himself, shoving his hands deep into his trouser pockets.

"Are you going to show me those moves Draco?" if his name hadn't been on end he would've just pretended not to have heard and walked off, instead he had to look over his shoulder and act interested in Pansy.

"I'll sit this one out" he announced, smirking at the pout she was now giving him. It just made her look even more like a pug. Did she honestly believe he'd want to touch her? Let alone dance. Please. He hadn't even intended on doing that with Mia and he actually liked her! No, why this girl had the notion that he even wanted to be talking with her was beyond his knowledge. Their teacher on the other hand seemed to have a different idea.

"You are here to learn dancing for the Yule ball, not to sit out" it had been said to the whole hall but Draco knew it was directed at him. Begrudgingly he turned back round to face Pansy who was still hovering around him like a fly.

"Can't you find someone else?" he asked, surprising himself with how whiney his voice suddenly sounded. Whether he wanted to get it of this or not, a Malfoy never _whined._

"I don't want anyone else" that ugly pout was back on her equally ugly face. He resisted the urge to glance around for another partner, and instead allowed Pansy to cling to his shoulders like a repulsive koala. It was no surprise that she couldn't dance. In fact that was an understatement. She'd seemed to lose the ability to rest up right let alone put one foot in front of the other gracefully.

"You should've insisted on demonstrating with me" she whispered in what Draco regretfully presumed was a seductive voice.

"Why would I have wanted to do that?" he had to force a smirk onto his features instead of a grimace as she stepped on his right foot. Seriously, a blind chimp could do enter than this! Mia certainly could do better. That thought caused his eyes to flicker around the hall, catching the brunettes' who was now stood beside the door, what he was sure a forced smile covering her lips. She'd spotted him as soon as she'd walked back in, her emerald eyes drawn to the white-blonde head bobbing around in a sea of green and black robes.

~Why's he dancing with her? I've been gone 5 seconds and she's already pounced~

The smile faltered for a moment, replaced momentarily by a frown. Why was she over reacting so much? So what if Slytherin's prince wanted to practice with someone else. He could practice with the rest of the hall if he wanted to, and he probably would. But Mia really didn't feel like taking part with anyone else. Instead she waited until Snape was facing the opposite direction and slipped back out of the door, making her way back to what would be a completely empty Slytherin common room.

The blonde noticed the fourth year leave, but couldn't get out of his partners vice like grasp to go and catch her up. He'd seen the frown, but couldn't be sure as to why it had come about. Then again, maybe it was better if she left. He'd unintentionally got close to her again, and if staying in the hall dancing with the 'flower' would help sort that out, so be it.

ZNZNZN

Draco spotted her as soon as he reached the entrance to the dormitory stairs. The teenager was sitting on what appeared to be a supply crate from a potions cupboard almost completely hidden by the top stair case overhead, with one knee pulled up and the other leg dangling over the side of the crate. Mia's hands were locked around her knee and her back was resting against the cool stone wall. It didn't look comfortable but the distracted look on the Slytherin's face indicated that she didn't care. He could've carried on down the stairs, using the excuse that she was so well hidden he simply hadn't spotter her, but the distant look in her eyes didn't make that possible. The blonde had to duck down slightly to get between the two stair cases before sitting down on the small crate.

"Snape sent a second year to go look for you, when they couldn't find you he sent me" Why he felt the need to explain himself was anyone's guess, and why it wasn't the truth was also a mystery. A second year had been told to check the dormitory, but Draco had taken it into his own hands and managed to sneak away. The brunette gave a small nod, her mind still elsewhere.

"What's wrong?" he asked, bumping her shoulder playfully in an attempt to cheer her up. Mia let out a sigh, blowing black curls from her face. She hadn't intended to walk off and sit on a crate. Then again, who would intent to do that? But in all honesty she hadn't intended to dance at all that day, so this really wasn't so weird.

Looking over at her friend, she shrugged. Nothing was wrong, well nothing she wished to admit to.  
"Just wanted a drink" she muttered.

"They do drinks under here?" the younger resisted the urge to bump him onto the floor, although that was an amusing mental image.

"Only if you ask nicely"

"And I'm not able to do that?" the blonde raised an eyebrow, his arms crossing over his chest. Sure he'd play along, anything if it made her talk.

"You're catching on fast" her other leg dropped down off of the crate, heels going together. It had been oddly peaceful sitting there alone, not comfortable, but certainly peaceful. Although the crick in her neck wasn't so nice. "Have fun with Pansy?" if anyone had been passing they would've thought it was just a harmless question between friends, but Draco caught the undertone to her voice and had to bite down on his lip to stop a snide comment. Instead he shrugged, attempting to appear unaffected.

"She can't dance"

"Neither can I"

"You were holding your own pretty well" Mia glanced over in the others direction, her eyes briefly meeting his. What was he playing at?

"Was that meant to be a compliment?" both Slytherin's paused, their attention momentarily drawn to a group heading down to the dormitory. Once they'd passed Draco stood up off the crate.

"Maybe we should go back up to the room" he suggested ignoring the earlier question and holding his hand out for her to take. The younger blinked, suddenly caught off guard,

"I need to go to the library, I'll meet you later?" Taking his hand she allowed him to pull her up, glad she didn't have to bend down like he was to fit under the staircase. Sometimes being small had its perks. The blonde nodded, his hands going back into his pockets as he stepped out of the hidden space, straightening up and stretching. That probably hadn't done his back any good, but it was highly likely that Mia would have sat there for hours if he hadn't done anything. So all in all, it was worth it.

"Ok" he agreed, taking the several steps to the main stairwell, cracking his knuckles as he waited for her, smirking at the expression she was now giving him. "What?" The brunette shook her head, half tempted to hit him with the empty crate, and if it hadn't been for the fact the library would be shutting soon, she probably would have.


	47. You're Like A Puppy

_**A/N: Sorry this has taken so long to get up, I've been having some technical difficulties and honestly not knowing how to start this chapter. I know I've missed out a huge chunk, the first task, but as Mia isn't really involved all I would be doing is describing what's happening and if you wanted that you'd be reading the book right now. So I've gone onto the next main point, the Yule Ball.**_

_**Oh and also I don't think I can make this any clearer or say it any more times, BELLATRIX IS **__**NOT **__**I REPEAT NOT PART OF THE BLACK FAMILY. She is NOT Narcissa's sister; they are not related in any way! That means Mia is NOT related to Narcissa, NOR Draco. This is not an incest story, Mia is not related in anyway what so ever to the black family. Please, for my sanity will people stop saying she is. I CHANGED it to make it viable which I have stated at least 5 times throughout the story so far. Everyone got that now?**_

"You can't be serious" Draco was stood by the door of their shared room, his dress robes for the evening piled messily in his arms, a disgruntled look covering his features. The room was a mess, literally resembling that of a war zone with all the clothes, makeup and hair products, at least half curtsey of Draco.

"Deadly. I need to get ready" Mia was half buried under one particular avalanche, only her legs and back visible as she rummaged for Merlin only knew what.

"'Getting ready' doesn't involve taking over my room and kicking me out!" he huffed, though was already opening the door as her correction about it being 'their' room was spoken. He glanced over his shoulder just as it was shutting, smiling sadly at the others back. "Forgive me" he whispered, but was drowned out by the thump of the wood.

ZNZNZN

2 ½ hours later Draco was stood, now in his dress robes at the bottom of the dormitory stairs. It was taking all of his self control, but as Pansy sauntered over he was managing to keep a blank expression and not gag. She didn't look particularly good, the pink dress quite frankly just made her look fat and what perfume she had bathed in was far too overpowering. He regretted asking her- hell, that had happened seconds after he had. But this was for the best.

"Hi Draco" she purred, drawing out his name for a few extra syllables so it sounded more like 'Draaacoooo'.

"Pansy" the blonde responded, attempting to give his infamous smirk that he really wasn't feeling.

"For a while there I thought you were going to ask Mia" She tried to say it nochtulantly, but it wasn't hard to pick up the smugness to her voice. He gave a short laugh, one that lacked all humour and caused Pansy to blink cluelessly several times like the idiot she was. Nothing was funny in the slightest about this situation.

Before the conversation could go any further however, the girl in question became visible, slowly descending the staircase. Her dark hair was mostly pulled back into an intricate braid, with several perfect ringlets framing her face and the green emerald hairclip, the exact same shade as her dress, was holding her sweeping fringe in place. Once again the blondes self control was called into question as he took in the hair, the vibrant eyes, deep red lips. He was unable to prevent his own eyes from widening and his mouth opening slightly at the sight of the dress though. From what he could tell, it was a halter neck, a thin green jewelled strap snaking around her neck, her back completely exposed; showing what he was certain would be incredibly soft ivory skin. A string of emotions flashed across his features; adoration, desire, shock and regret being just some of them. Luckily by the time Mia reached the floor they had all been pushed firmly away. Pansy also chose that moment to move closer, slipping her arm around his and literally clinging to him. Ideally he would have pushed her away- she was a leech after all, but that wasn't an option right now.

"What's going on?" He could hear the quiet accusation in the fourth year's voice and wanted to squash it immediately. Yet his answer didn't do that.

"Pansy's my date." The facade nearly slipped when Mia's face fell, the temptation, need, to pull her into his arms and never let go almost too overwhelming. Almost. He could understand, of course she'd been expecting to go with him, he'd probably insinuated it at least ten times. However that didn't make it possible.

"Could you stay somewhere else tonight? Well, unless you're into watching..." Now, Draco had never hit a girl before, and in every other circumstance found the thought repulsive, but after Pansy's comment just then, his view nearly changed. How could she even suggest such a thing? There would be no need for Mia to stay elsewhere because Pansy wouldn't be getting anywhere near his room. But if the younger believed it was true it could make her hate him. And that would keep her safe. He couldn't keep looking at her though; if he kept eye contact she'd see the truth. Turning his head to the side, the blonde ignored Mia when she said his name, the broken whisper making his heart ache. Not that any of his feelings showed with that stoic look on his face. He didn't hear what she mumbled, but did catch sight of her tears as she fled from the common room. It tore him up inside, every part of his body telling him to run after her. If only that was possible. Instead he shoved Pansy, not too gently away, showing a glare that would have had most first years running.

"What was that?" He hissed, taking out all of his self hatred on her.

"I'm your date-" the pug started to say, looking honestly confused. Ha, like she didn't know! Now _that_ was laughable.

"And I'm regretting that by the second" He wasn't trying to keep his voice down anymore, so really didn't care when a group of 5th years looked over curiously. Maybe this was all a mistake. If he was quick enough he could still catch up to Mia and apologise. Then his father's words echoed in his head. Lucius had seen them in the maze that day. The younger blonde had been stupid to kiss her so openly; he'd been stupid to kiss her at all. And he'd paid for it. But his father was a cunning man, a trait which Draco himself had inherited, and realised his tactics were no longer working. This time he'd brought Mia into the acquastion, and if Draco didn't stay away as instructed, it would be the brunette who would pay the price.

She ran. Without thinking where or why. She just ran. And if it hadn't been for someone grabbing her arm gently as the entrance hall came into sight she probably wouldn't have stopped.

"What's the rush?" Initial fear that the voice and hand belonged to Draco who had followed her and now wanted to explain caused her to pull away. Of course it wasn't the blonde though. "Hey." No, it was one half of a twin who was now looking rather worried. Mia opened her mouth to say something, anything, but no words sounded. Instead a mix between a sob and a hiccup came out, which was enough for Fred to move his hand to the forth years bare back and guide her down an emptier corridor, away from prying eyes. And then he did something which would have shocked her under any other circumstance; for once in his life, Fred Weasley, who was notorious for asking questions and joking around, didn't. This time he put his arms around the younger's shaking form and pulled her against him, him mouth staying completely shut.

They stood like that for over five minutes, the redhead waiting until the other had calmed down enough and stepped back out of his arms.

"What happened?" Ok, so maybe he did give into one question finally, but in his defence it had been eating at him and he could take an educated guess about who would be involved. It took several more attempts for words to actually come out, and even then they were slightly mumbled and broken.

"He said- with her- I can't." Fred took a deep breath; his blood starting to boil at who he was certain had caused this. But he had to be sure.

"He who?" The brunette looked up through wet lashes, her eyes finally meeting his. She could tell he was angry, something she couldn't remember ever seeing before, so maybe telling him the truth wasn't the best idea. "He. Who?" Or maybe Fred wouldn't stop until he had an answer.

"Draco-" She started, the name still causing a physical pain in her chest, but was cut off before she could explain that even though he had implied he liked her a hell of a lot, he hadn't _actually_ done anything wrong.

"He's a dead man." Mia's eyes widened in shock. Sure, she knew none of the Weasley's particularly liked the Malfoys and that was putting it lightly, but for Fred, who was in no way an aggressive man to say such a threat...

"No." Well at least her voice sounded stronger than she felt. "Not tonight. I can't deal with a murder as well right now" Fred seemed to think it over, deciding he would definitely do something about the situation tomorrow, whether he was given more facts or not. He really didn't need facts to know Malfoy was a spineless creep and had hurt his friend, and he wasn't about to let that go.

"Fine" He agreed out loud after a loud, over exaggerated sigh. "But you're not missing this stupid ball if I have to go. George can take Angelina." The fourth year blinked cluelessly. She really didn't feel like going to any ball right now, and what did that have to do with George taking Angelina? As if realising the confusion, Fred suddenly got down onto one knee, which in all honesty almost gave Mia a heart attack though thankfully he chose to ask a different to question to what she had been thinking. "Mia Lestrange,"

_~Oh Merlin. Please don't propose. Why is he done on one knee? People are going to see, I can see someone looking round the corner! They're going to think we're about to be married. Fred please get up this isn't funny. Why isn't he getting up?~_

"Will you go to the Yule ball with me?"Oh. Mia let out a shaky laugh, more at herself. So that's what he'd meant about Angelina! A small, half forced smile flickered across the raven haired girl's lips. She still didn't feel like going, especially with the likely hood of seeing Draco and_ her, _but when Fred was looking at her like a bouncing puppy it was hard to say no.

"_If_ I say yes, will you get up and stop making it look like we're about to get married?" A half dreamy, half hopeful grin spread over the redheads face, probably at the idea of what being married to her would entitle.

"We'll work on that later" he decided without the others consent, standing back up and brushing his knees off. It was only then that she got a proper look at what her newly made date was wearing. Thankfully he hadn't been sent dress robes like his youngest brother, and was instead in a black waist coat, the tie of which matched the green of the others dress nearly spot on. She didn't wish to know how they matched so well, but his comment of "I knew you'd look amazing" gave the impression he was in fact a stalker.

They were late. And even later as Mia made them go the long way to the Great hall so she could duck into a bathroom and sort herself out. No one seemed to really notice them enter however, most couples were already dancing in the middle of the floor. But Fred wasn't off the hook that easily from his previous date. They were ambushed by George and a very angry looking Angelina before they'd made it to one of the tables.

"Fred! What's going on, where have you been?" The darker skinned sixth year demanded, placing her hands on her hips and looking every bit the warrior princess in the red and white flowing dress she had on. Both twins took a visible step backwards, obviously used to this reaction from their mother to know how to react when it was another female they'd aggravated. "Seriously, why are you so late?" Evidently she hadn't noticed the fourth year, who was able to slip away, not wanting to be caught up in a domestic and went to stand by one of the drinks tables. There was a wide selection- nothing alcoholic due to the under aged students, and after picking up what she hoped was just a plain pumpkin juice, Mia turned to watch those dancing. Ginny was easy to stop, her flaming red hair whizzing around her head as she was spun around the dance floor by Neville. Wait, what? The Slytherin's eyes flew open, a tentative smile flickering over her face once more. They looked sweet together, but she really wasn't sure her previous best friend liked Neville that way. At least he could dance.

"Are you ok?" a voice asked beside her as a pale freckled hand lightly grazed the skin on her back. The raven haired girl blinked, choosing to avoid the question and ask her own.

"Sorted everything out with Angelina?"

"Sort of" He answered sheepishly, his hand moving to run through his already tussled hair. When Mia raised an eyebrow he continued, "She thinks George is me."

"Wont she be able to tell the difference?" Yes they were technically identical, but they still had slight difference, and she was pretty sure Angelina wouldn't be fooled that easily. Either way, Fred shrugged.

They stood at the corner watching the crowd dance in what could only be described as comfortable silence. Well, at least until Fred started to get restless and bounce from foot to foot.

"You're like a puppy" Mia mussed aloud, putting her empty cup down. She was tempted to pick up another, just for the sake of something to do and as an excuse not to dance. However her date seemed to have different ideas.

"Come on" he insisted, taking her hand and pulling her towards a free space. She made a sound of annoyance, but put up no other resistance.

"This is stupid." The brunette said finally, glancing up at the red head who shrugged again. If he didn't stop doing that she was definitely going to leave. Or hit him.

"Why is it?" he retorted playfully, obvious to the threat unfolding in the others mind.

"Because ballroom dancing will never help anyone." And that was putting it simply. She really couldn't understand how anyone could enjoy putting one foot in front of the other in time to incredibly dull music. Ok, so that wasn't entirely true, doing that exact thing with Draco had been... nice. Her thoughts turned to the pureblood instantly, eyes unintentionally scanning the room for the blonde head of hair. He wasn't anywhere on the dance floor and before Mia could search the tables behind her Fred was pulling her further into the crowd whilst the music was changing.

"Stop it" Looking to the left where he was now stood, she raised an eyebrow. "You're looking for him, cut it out." She blinked twice, running over what he had just said and trying to figure out how he'd realised. Then again, she probably wasn't being too subtle about it.

"Sorry" Of course it was pointless looking for him and she was more than thankful Fred hadn't actually used his name, but that didn't make the whole thing any easier. The red head sighed putting his arm over her shoulder for the third time that night, this time deciding not to mention how nice she smelt and go for a different tactic.

"We'll deal with it tomorrow"

"That still leaves me with the problem of where to go tonight" The other bit his lip, honestly appearing to be thinking the dilemma over.

"I'll come up with something." And he did.

Four hours later once most of the Yule ball had finished, Mia found herself in the very unlikely place of the Gryffindor common room whilst Fred clambered up the girls dormitory stairs in order to try and find his sister.

"Come on!" his head was now popping around the spiral staircase, a smile on his lips. She wanted to shake her head, turn around and run out, anything that wouldn't involve having to see Ginny and hear 'I told you so', although there really wasn't any other option when it came to sleeping arrangements for tonight. Slowly climbing the steps, Mia paused outside the door watching as one of two twins smiled at her and disappeared back to the common room. She stayed where she was, not wanting to risk looking up and meeting the other girl's eyes.

"Mia?" Letting out a breath, she glanced at the younger redhead. Ginny was stood in front of a small crowd of girls whom the Slytherin really couldn't name, and was the only one who didn't look judgemental. "Are you ok?" Well that did it. She tried to swallow the lump which had accumulated in her throat but tears were already welling up in her eyes again. Thankfully Ginny seemed to forget about the last conversation they'd had and jump straight back into best friend mode, quick walking over and hugging the slightly taller girl. "You can stay here for tonight."


	48. Him'

_**A/N: Thank you everyone that reviewed the last chapter, some of them were really nice to read and made me want to get this chapter up quicker. I'll try to keep updating every 1-2 weeks.**_

_**Let's see what Fred does the next morning shall we?**_

_**Disclaimed: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the plot. That all belongs to the wonderful J.K Rowling. I do however own Mia Lestrange and her part in the plot. Also, Bellatrix Lestrange is not part of the Black family in this story. I shall just mention that in every chapter from now on to make sure there's no mix up.**_

_**Z-Nugget xx**_

The next morning was rather problematic considering the only clothes Mia had to hand were a ball gown and 4 inch heels.

"What am I going to do?" Ginny had lent her a pair of jeans that were slightly too short and a baggy jumper that was probably a hand-me-down from one of her brothers, so she didn't look competent stupid- or like a stop out when sat on Fred's bed in the sixth year boys dormitory. The twins and herself were currently the only ones in there, all choosing to miss breakfast.

"About which part?" George asked glancing up from a pile of sweets he had been trying to spell for the past ten minutes. Fred, who had been crouched next to him stood and padded over to his bed, dropping down beside the brunette and causing the whole bed to bounce.

"You aren't going back there."

"And where would I go? I can't get into my dorm room, that was the problem in the first place, and I can hardly stay with Ginny for the next 3 years." Mia let out a sigh, still unable to refer to the blonde as anything other than 'him'. But she really couldn't see any option aside from sharing a room with him.

"Why not?" she blinked at George's question,

"Why not what?" ok maybe she hadn't been paying complete attention and had gotten a little distracted with her own thoughts. The twin didn't seem bothered though.

"Why can't you stay with Gin for a few years? She wouldn't mind." How could he make it sound simple? Anyway, even if it were possible for her to continue rooming with the little red head and the other third year Gryffindor girls, that still left her with a problem.

"What about my clothes? They're all still in the room and he'll be up there with Pansy." Now _that _name she could say, and it came out with a lot more hatred than she intended. Both twins exchanged a look, before Fred shrugged,

"I'll get them." Mia tried to protest, but the redheads mind was made up. "Stay here with George, I'll go get your things." And with that declaration he had disappeared out of the door.

Thanks to the marauder's map he had previously owned, it wasn't hard for Fred to find the entrance to the Slytherin common room. How cliché could they be putting it in the dungeons. However actually getting in was proving more tricky.

"Pure Blood" He said to the painting, hoping they really were that naive to use such a password. When it ignored him and didn't open it appeared he was wrong.

_~I probably should have asked Mia for the password before I left. That would have been a smart idea. But I can't go back now without her things!~_

Luck really was on Fred Weasley's side today though as in only a matter of minutes the portrait door swung open and out walked a blonde head of hair whom Fred had to resist the urge to throttle right then and there. Instead he noticed that within the two-three seconds it took Malfoy to realise someone else was stood out there, he looked genuinely miserable. Of course that changed instantly when he did see the red head, a smirk forming on his lips which didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Got a little lost Weasel bee?" He tried to taunt, neither of them feeling it.

"I need Mia's things." That wiped the smirk right off his face.

"Why?"

"Because she's not staying with you anymore and doesn't want to see you." He could've sworn Malfoy's voice actually trembled when he'd asked the question.

"Fine." Then again, maybe not. He just looked pissed off now as he went back through the portrait hole, holding it open long enough for the sixth year to follow. Their common room was horrible, no natural light, no windows, no warm colours. It made him grateful to be in Gryffindor. They walked up the stairs in silence, Fred going over the possibly disturbing sight of what he might see, whilst Draco was lost in his own thoughts.

_~He wants her things. She's moving out? And won't even get them herself! This wasn't meant to happen. She was just meant to hate me, be angry and not talk to me. But we'd still room together, I'd still see her! This is Pansy's fault. Her and her stupid comment. And then she had the nerve to ask me to dance every five minutes like I was going to change my mind and say yes. Now Mi won't even come herself to get her clothes. She must really hate me right now...~_

Absently he opened the door, going over to his bed and slumping down on it, lost in his own mind. In fact he only remembered the blood traitor had been following him when he asked a question,

"Is that Mia's?" he was pointing to the trunk in front of the unoccupied bed.

"Yes." Right now he didn't even have it in him for a sarcastic comment. Not that Fred really noticed nor cared. He bent down, lifting the trunk onto the bed, then opened the wardrobe and started moving the fourth year's clothes. It took longer than he would have liked, mainly because he'd already decided to fold the tops rather than shove them in. Once it was emptied of clothing and shoes, he moved onto the bedside table. It was mostly vacant anyway, and after the spell book and wand were in the trunk all left was a silver charm bracelet.

"You can keep that." Fred glowered, throwing it directly at Malfoy's head. "She doesn't want any shit you've given her." He was more than disappointed when the blonde caught it. The Slytherin didn't react though, just sat up staring at the little charms, touching each one in turn and watching as it shot sparks or moved in some way. Did she actually say that, that she didn't want the bracelet which had once made her so happy, or had the stupid twin decided it for her? He wasn't even sure which twin was in his room right now! His room... no longer 'our room'. That could be the last thing she'd say to him in a very long time... Now she'd be saying it to the other man currently in his room. That just made him angry.

"Fine. Mia wasn't that good anyway, I can do better." That was a lie and he was pretty certain they both knew it, but it was starting to have its desired goal of infuriating the red head. "Pansy's much more skilled anyway. She's more fun to kiss" Ok, so there were several things wrong with that comment. Firstly, Draco had no idea whether Pansy was skilled in _any _department and he had no intention of finding out. Secondly, he highly doubted anyone could top Mia's kiss, except maybe Mia herself and after last night's events, that wasn't likely to happen. And thirdly, he really hoped the lie wouldn't get repeated back to either of the girls. It once again angered Fred however, who slammed the trunk top closed and stood up.

"Bullshit." For a man that didn't really swear that often and was generally light hearted, the irony of the moment wasn't lost on him. "Mia wouldn't do anything with you." He'd tried to call the Slytherin's bluff, but the smirk on his face was now very real.

"She wouldn't do anything with _you_." He teased harshly, again not really knowing if there was any truth behind it. Fred looked like he was about to punch him, his fist balled up already. And Draco would have embraced it, because for the first he could see, he deserved it. But the red head chose to be the bigger man.

"Stay away from her." The unspoken threat lingered in the air as Fred bent to pick up the trunk, making light work of it and leaving the room.

Now the Gryffindor really wanted to go back up there and do things he'd never even considered before, never had to, though right now it was taking a lot of control to suppress that want and continue. In no time he was back in his common room, still generally empty from students at breakfast and jogged up to his dorm, dropping the trunk in the doorway. Whatever conversation the brunette and his brother were having was cut short.

"You got it!" Mia exclaimed, running over to Fred and throwing her arms around his neck. Initially he was caught off guard, taking slightly longer than he would have liked for his own hands to respond and go to the Slytherin's back. Normally he would have grinned. Not this time though. He could feel Mia's body slump as she clung onto him, actually feel how upset she was. This prompted a look to his brother, causing George to mutter something about Ginny and carry the trunk away, somehow managing to shut the door after himself. Neither of the two moved, Fred's chin easily resting on top of the others head.

"Were you and Malfoy ever together?" He asked out of what seemed like the blue, although had really been a carefully put together question. Mia blinked, stepping back out from the embrace.

"Uh-What?" A confused expression covered her face. Keeping his cool, he asked again.

"Were you and Malfoy ever together?" She looked away, either deep in thought about Merlin only knew or just not wanting to answer.

"No." The redhead ignored the harsh bluntness and continued, needing to know if there had been any truth to what the arrogant blonde said.

"Did you and him ever do anything, like kiss?" Ok, that hadn't sounded as stupid in his head. He was trying to appear nonchalant, whether Mia saw through it or not was a mystery.

"Why does it matter?" She was avoiding the question, and from the set hard line of her mouth, it was obvious that would be the only answer he was getting. "I should go find Ginny." She mumbled, turning on her heel and leaving Fred alone with his thoughts.


	49. Gone In The Blink Of An Eye

_**A/N: Sorry this chapter's taken so long to get up... I've been incredibly busy and in all honesty just had no idea what to put in this chapter. I real fail when it comes to filler chapters and they take ages for me to get up. So yeah, sorry about that. But it's up now! I'll try and get another one up soon. Thanks for being patient,**_

_**Z-Nugget xx**_

The next days, weeks, even months passed by in a sort of blur. Some things stuck in of course, including the vague memory of the twins selling betting slips at the second challenge and Ginny showing her obvious distaste. But for most of the time Mia was functioning on auto-pilot. She'd wake up automatically before the other girls in the dormitory, repeat simple commands to perform in her head such as 'go to the shower' 'get dressed' and 'wait for Ginny then go eat'. She'd have little input into conversations going on around her, not that any of the Gryffindor girls seemed to mind nor notice. In fact, Fred was the only one who realised she was missing from the start of the third task. He bounded up the stairs like a new born puppy, not bothering to knock as he jumped through the doorway.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked a puzzling look on his face. Mia looked away from the window which had been capturing her attention for the last hour, her bright eyes trailing over to Fred.

"I'm not sure." It was the truth. Her auto-pilot had gotten as far as 'get dressed' before it had malfunctioned and somehow she had ended up perched on the small window sill ledge. Now the sun, which had initially been shining down on her face, was covered over with clouds and slowly moving to the west. "What are _you_ doing here?" Fred merely shrugged as he joined her by the glass.

"You're missing the third task; Harry just went into the maze." Mia tried to appear interested, but it wasn't fooling either of them. Never the less Fred carried on, "The winner's whoever gets to the cup first and it'll act like a port key. I'm not sure how the others will get out." It was a valid point, one that the brunette couldn't figure out either. Eventually she settled for suggesting, "Magic?" Which caused both to crack a small smile. Without warning Fred slipped his hands under the Slytherin's arms and hauled her backwards, stumbling onto her feet. Mia made a slight whining noise, but put up no other complaining.

"Are you still coming to ours for a few weeks in the holiday?" The brunette blinked, caught off guard. Not that Fred seemed to mind. "You agreed with Ginny the other week, mum loves having you round remember?" The last part was hardly an added incentive considering Mrs Weasley loved having anyone and everyone staying at her house. Never the less Mia nodded her head, brushing the few strands of dark hair from her face afterwards. She'd forgotten about any conversation with Ginny on the topic, not that she was about to say such.

"Of course!" He didn't appear to be buying her enthusiasm.

"You can't remember can you?"

"Nope, not at all."

Fred grinned, keeping one arm around the others shoulder as he guided her from the room and down the stairs. There was no one in the common room, probably no one in the whole castle as everyone would be out watching the tournament. In a way this pleased Mia. It meant she hadn't had to encounter anyone besides Fred yet all day, and if he hadn't come looking for her she more than likely would have been alone for the whole day.

Mia trundled slightly behind Fred as they walked; kicking up several stones and scuffing her once black shoes.

"Cheer up, Harry's about to become a champion!" she was grateful for the distraction.

"You can't know that, Fleur could win" she argued, raising an eyebrow at the look he was now wearing. "What?"

"You think a girl's going to beat those three?" He ducked, chuckling as Mia's arm shot out to smack him around the head and missed. "Point proven!" She stuck her tongue out. Honestly, she didn't really care who won, but it probably wouldn't be Fleur, not when considering how she'd performed in the previous challenges.

"Did you get more bets for this task?" Fred shook his head looking momentarily annoyed, an unusual expression on his normally cheerful face.

"Someone outed me and George to McGonagall." The brunette couldn't help but smile. Of course she wasn't the one who'd done it, but it wasn't hard to see why someone had. They _were_ betting on people's lives after all.

"There's always next year" she said, trying to console the redhead who had begun to grin mischievously.

"I can hardly take bets on myself next time, I'll get offended if they bet against me!" Mia stopped walking.

"You can't put your name in next year" she protested, crossing her arms over her chest. Was he honestly saying he was going to risk his life just for the prize money and glory? She could give him money if he were that desperate! Then again, what he wanted it for was anyone's guess. Fred had opened his mouth to disagree, but was cut off by arising screams. They had walked most of the way and nearly reached the stands for the maze, yet were still too far away to actually see what was happening. The screams drove both to turn into a sprint, and despite Mia being fast she was still trailing behind thanks to Fred's long legs. People were now flooding out of the stands, several professors shouting orders for everyone to get back to their rooms or to where ever they were staying. The Slytherin noticed Harry getting dragged off by Professor Moody and slowed down back to a walk. If Harry was there didn't that mean he'd won? So why were people still screaming? No, scratch that, why were people screaming in the first place? She was about to voice that thought when it became apparent the red head was no longer in front of her. Frowning she stepped forward, closer to the maze.

"Fred where have you-" She was cut short as a panicked group of Beaux Batons girls rushed past, knocking her sideways and tumbling to the ground with a thud. "Oh thanks" the brunette muttered clambering back up. After brushing off her knees she glanced around, eyes momentarily locking with a blonde who was stood at the other side of the crowd. It was likely she was imagining it, but he looked concerned, though it was gone in the blink of an eye. Then again, so was he.

"What happened?" A familiar voice asked. Mia shook her head trying to clear it. It wasn't hard to guess what had happened to her, well either that or she'd managed to trip on pure air, but hopefully Fred had more faith in her than that, so she didn't bother to answer his question.

"Where did you run off to?" It was only then that she took a proper look at Fred, the serious appearance he was wearing unsettling.

"Cedric's been found dead" And that would be why. But that still didn't explain why everyone was fleeing. It had been explained at the start before anyone entered their names how dangerous the tournament was, that people could die. "They think he was murdered, it's getting investigated" The Slytherin blinked, certainly not expecting that. Did they think he was murdered by one of the other contestants? That would be even worse than just being killed by the task. "Come on" He said, checking over his shoulder to make sure everyone was following. Mia hadn't even noticed he'd managed to gather both brothers, Ginny and Hermione who were all looking equally as worried. She nodded numbly, allowing herself to be led back up to the building.


	50. Nice Knowing You

The weather was dreadful all through the holidays, even the occasional thunderstorm which Mia watched through one of the upper windows of the burrow. She'd always loved the rain, and had even go so far as to run out and play in it at every opportunity when she was younger. But that pull just wasn't there anymore. Since coming to the burrow her auto pilot seemed to have stopped, and the brunette had become more involved with the family and even started to pay attention when Ginny spoke about Harry. The little redhead had been hysterical at first, assuming her imaginary lover had been terribly injured and on the brink of death, and had only recently begun to calm down.

"The showers free" Mia said as she heard Ginny approaching towards the window. It was always easy to tell when it was the youngest Weasley walking up the stairs, her footsteps quieter and lighter than anyone elses.

"I'll have one later, just before we go" Mia shrugged in response, still looking out the window. Her hair had been changed due to Ginny's influence over the holiday, the natural curls being straightened out with a simple spell and a choppy fringe getting put in mainly for the sake of her to try and hide behind. The twins had appeared under the window, and caught her attention by running along the long grass. One was possibly chasing the other, but she couldn't be sure. They were zigzagging backwards and forwards, the one in front doing a dive through the grass, or maybe he'd just tripped because he scrambled up and continued to run pretty quickly. Then again, they could just be trying to get hit by lightning.

Before Mia could shout anything out to them, both boys were suddenly stood next to her, dripping rain water all over the carpet. The Slytherin jumped, still not used to their ability to apparate.

"You know, just because you're both seventeen now it isn't mandatory for you to use magic at every opportunity" They merely grinned. Luckily Ginny picked the five seconds before their appearance to leave the room already, so hadn't noticed the puddle forming under the twins feet. Mia had. "I'm not sure who'll kill you for that first," she pondered nonchalantly "Your sister won't be pleased, but your mother will be furious" That momentarily wiped the grins off their faces.

"We can fix it!" Fred declared, pointing his wand at the puddle. He didn't believe for one second that it would really work, the spell he was thinking of using wasn't exactly one he knew well and wasn't even sure it was right. Which was precisely why instead of the water disappearing, the puddle began to grow in size. Soon the whole bedroom floor was covered with a thin layer of shimmering liquid.

"Oh yeah, great job at fixing it" The younger teenager said dryly, noting that converse really weren't to be considered water proof.

"I never was very good at that spell" said Fred sheepishly. George nodded in agreement which earned him an elbow to the ribs.

"Well, it was nice knowing you" Mia said, grinning as she tried to leap over most of the water and left the room.

ZNZNZN

Grimmauld place wasn't exactly a mansion, but it sure as hell wasn't small. The Weasleys and Mia were the first to arrive that evening, each being given separate rooms and told to stay put. Hermione arrived next and immediately went to talk with Ron, then several aurors who crowded into the kitchen, and finally Harry Potter. Mia watched all of this undisturbed from her place at the top of the highest staircase, legs dangling through the wooden bars. She couldn't quite hear what was being said, but could take a guess it involved Harry's recent expulsion.

Without warning the twins were on either side of her,

"If you ask nicely, we'll give you a way to listen in" Fred said, holding out his hand to help her up.

"What makes you think i'm that interested?" Both boys shrugged, she took the offered hand regardless.

Harry Ron and Hermione were stood at the staircase below, causing Mia to raise an eyebrow. She hadn't seen all of the twins inventions, but one used for eavesdropping was bound to go awry. The thought was backed up when George appeared to pull an ear from his pocket and slowly lower it over the banister. Another ear was attached to the other end which actually worked as, well, an ear and transmitted the voices up. It was stil slightly hard to hear clearly though.

"Snape's part of the order?" Harry asked in a hushed tone when the voice became audible. Ginny picked that moment to join them from her room, wedging herself between Mia and Fred, and smiling widely at Harry who didn't even notice. It was also that moment that Hermione's cat decided the extendible ear looked like a toy and began trying to bite and scratch it from beside the door. No amount of calling by its owner or even the shoe thrown by a twin would stop it and within seconds the cat had stalked off with the now broken ear.

George sighed, "Hermione I hate your cat." Mia barely managed to contain the bubble of laughter rising in her throat.

They all waited for ten minutes at the top of the stairs, the trio talking quietly whilst Fred pulled faces at Mia and George mourned the broken ear, but finally the kitchen door opened.

"We'll be eating down here in a short while" Mrs Weasley called up, smiling as Ginny walked past, the brunette in toe. The scream of frustration she gave made both girls stop and look over their shoulders. Of course it was due to the twins. "Just because you're old enough to use magic doesn't mean you have to whip your wands out at every opportunity!" She scolded, repeating Mia's earlier words. The girls shook their heads and went into the kitchen, ignoring the twins as they picked up George's shoe in the doorway and moved it under the table.

Mia sat with Ginny on one side, Tonks on the other, both laughing as her sister transformed her nose into a snout and then a beak. It had been a party trick she'd done ever since Mia could remember, though her eye then caught George who was starring angrily at Crookshanks and muttering 'Hate you' under his breath.

"You do realise that's a cat? It can't understand you"

"Let him have someone to blame" Fred added in, leaning across the table towards the Slytherin to grab the half full coffee pot.

"I could've just passed you that if you'd asked?" She suggested, sitting further back in the chair as hot coffee got spilt onto the table.

"Ah, but then I wouldn't of had an excuse to get so close" She had to give him that. At least it was vaguely inventive. In fact, she was pretty sure he didn't even drink coffee. All the small talk faded away rather quickly when Harry began asking questions about the ministry though, every teenager around the table too intrigued in what they might learn.

"They've been attacking Dumbledore as well" said Mr. Weasley as Harry was handed the daily prophet. Mia had already read the issue, but hadn't thought much of 'the boy who lies' headline.

"Fudge is using all his power, including all his influence at the daily prophet to smear anyone who claims the Dark Lord has returned" Continued Sirius, pausing for Harry to take in the article.

"The minister thinks Dumbledore wants his job." Added in Mr. Weasley, getting cut off by Harry,

"But that's insane! No one in their right mind could believe that" Several heads around the table all nodded in unison.

"But that's exactly the point! Fudge isn't in his right mind, it's been twisted and warped by fear." Remus paused sighing, "Now fear makes people do terrible things Harry. The last time Voldemort gained power it nearly destroyed everything we hold dear. And now that he's returned I'll bet the minister will do almost anything than to face the most terrifying truth."

"We think Voldemort wants to build up his army" all heads turned to Sirius again, "Fourteen years ago he had huge numbers. Not just witches or wizards, but all manor of dark creatures, he's been recruiting again. And whilst we've been attempting to do the same, gathering followers isn't the only thing he's interested in." Sirius coughed "We believe Voldemort might be after something"

"Sirius" Moody warned as Mia reached out to clasp Ginny's hand for support. The red head cast her a quizzical look which was ignored.

"Something he didn't have last time"

"You mean like a weapon?" Harry asked. The Slytherin gulped, squeezing tighter to Ginny's hand. She couldn't be used as a weapon, right? No, of course not, that was a ludicrous thought and one that should be pushed to the back of her mind right this instant. But it wasn't. Sirius opened his mouth to answer, and she found she'd begun to hold her breath, waiting, anticipating.

"No! That's enough." Mrs Weasley scolded, stepping in and placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. Mia had to let out the breath for fear of turning blue, which drew a glance from Fred. "He's just a boy" Mrs Weasley continued, "You say much more and you might as well induct him into the other straight away!"

"Good! I want to join. If Voldemorts recruiting an army then I want to fight!" The heads nodded again. Unfortunately that was the end of the conversation and everyone that was still of school age got sent up to their rooms without another word.

_**A/N: Okie dokie. Yeah, sorry this has taken so long to get up a new chapter, there's been a lot going on and I just haven't had the inspiration or urge to right I guess. But here's the next chapter, and i'm working on the next one, so hopefully there wont be such a big gap. Thanks for keeping up with the story, and feel free to leave a review **____** Z-Nugget xx**_


	51. That's Likely'

Well, they looked ridiculous walking through the station. That really was the only word for it. Seven teenagers, half of which were ginger and obviously related, a girl with purple hair, an old man with a glass eye and cane, several more adults all in trench coats or robes and to top it all off a dog! Mia was walking closer to the back of the group next to Ginny and Tonks, one of which had their eyes glued to the back of Harry's unsuspecting head. No clues for guessing who that was! The twins were walking at the very front with Mr. Weasley, and seemed to be having a very animated conversation that involved lots of arm movements and the phrase 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' or something like that, being shouted quite a lot. Mr. Weasley did not look impressed. Mia decided it was best not to ask and slung her arm through Ginny's, having to stoop slightly so they were closed to the same height. Even that wasn't enough to get her attention off the boy who lived though. In fact, when Harry ducked into another room out of sight to talk quickly with Sirius, she still continued to stare helplessly at the glass, looking a kicked puppy.

"We really need to get you help" Mia commented, at temping to pull her friend towards the platform.

All of their trunks had already been taken and loaded earlier that day, probably with some help from the aurors who had been in previous talks with Dumbledore for hours discussing it, which left them with the simple task of boarding the train and finding an empty compartment. after a very hug-filled goodbye from the Weasley, including Fred somehow getting into the queue to say goodbye the a certain Slytherin and ten minutes of squeezing past students in the corridors waiting for their parents to blur out of sight, the two girls finally found a mostly empty compartment. There was another girl in there, with light honey blonde hair, and light blue eyes that had begun to narrow as she took in both girls. It turned out she was a friend of Ginny's, who actually did like Ginny, but had a deep set hatred for anyone who had been sorted in Slytherin, Mia being no exception. So between the nonsensical conversation she was having with the other Gryffindor, the honey coloured blonde girl managed to find the time to throw daggers at the brunette with her eyes for no actual reason besides the fact she was a Slytherin. Well, at least no other reason she could think of. She'd never seen the girl before, and she certainly wasn't one of the ones in Ginny's year she'd shared a room with, they weren't easy faces to forget. So, sighing Mia settled back into the chair and resolved to starring out of the window aimlessly for the whole journey.

The carriage ride up to the castle went much the same way, much to the extent that the only change finally occurred when they had to be seated for the sorting and feast. Obviously Mia couldn't sit by Ginny or any of the other Weasley as they weren't in the same house, so the brunette was forced to retire across to the Slytherin table alone, perching herself between a second year girl who smirked and a third year boy who tried to scoot away unsuccessfully. Not that there was anywhere for him to really go. Her back was to the Gryffindor table, and out of sheer luck the hushed, laughing voices of Fred and George soon trailed over to her ears as they had sat themselves behind her, a small smile reaching her lips as she heard them trying to sell a poor second year one of the products they'd made over the summer. The smile disappeared when, rather ironically Mia realised that she was almost directly across from Crabbe, who was quite predictably next to Goyle and beside him was, yep, you guessed it, Draco. She caught his eye accidentally when taking all of this in, and much to her surprise he didn't smirk or say a snide comment, well, at least not at first. No, at first, as if caught off guard, Draco Malfoy just looked back, his mouth slightly open as a series of emotions all flashed across his face, too fast for Mia to properly identify and then within the blink of an eye the arrogant, sarcastic mask that he used to rarely wear when around her went up and he leant closer to Pansy who was on his other side, finally breaking the eye contact with the younger brunette to whisper something, most likely disgusting and slimy into the wall flowers equally disgusting and slimy ear that made her do a really annoying high pitched giggle. Mia wanted to hit her. Who on earth even giggled? It was stupid and irritating and so not something she would ever do she decided, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest, eyes now glued to the wooden table, not that anyone really took any notice. Pansy though, paddling pool shallow Pansy, giggled again. It took all of her will power not to scream at the girl to shut up. Even when the food came Mia didn't look up, and the previous apatite she'd had had vanished rather quickly.

"May I have your attention" Called Dumbledore halfway through the feast, his voice booming out to fill the great hall. Students all stopped talking, but several still continued to eat. "Now, we have two changes to faculty this year. We are pleased to welcome back professor Grubley Plank who will be taking on care of magical creatures whilst professor Haygrid is on temporary leave." Having finally looked up when the head master had started speaking, Mia now caught the smirk on the blondes lips out of the corner of her eye, wishing she had longer legs to be able to kick him in the shins for smirking. "I also wish to welcome our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dolores Umbridge." A women dressed in a bright pink coat, literally _all_ bright pink, a pink hat and even pink shoes smiled out at the audience, giving a little wave. Who on earth would wear so much pink? It just wasn't normal. And really didn't suit the position of a Dark Arts teacher considering who they'd had in the past. "Now I hope you will all join me in wishing professor Umbridge good luck. As usual our caretaker, Filch has asked me to remind you-" Dumbledore stopped short as the new professor stood up and made her way to the front of the raised platform, her low pink heels clacking along the floor boards and resonating along the walls.

"Thank you, professor Dumbledore, for those kind words! And how nice, to see these bright, happy faces smiling up at me. I'm sure we're all going to be very, good friends" Mia just stared, like many others around her, mouth hanging slightly open. Ok, so the women might be from the ministry, but really, what was wrong with her mentally? She couldn't be all there surely. Next she'd be saying she loved cats! The Slytherin was just close enough to catch a comment from Fred and George, having to cover a laugh with a cough.

"That's likely" The twins said in unison, both looking equally unimpressed.

"The ministry of magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. Although each head master has brought something new to this historic school," Umbridge paused, inclining her head towards Dumbledore who smiled back, "But progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected and prohibit what must be prohibited" She giggled, which within an instant irritated Mia again, her eyes flickered over towards Pansy which wasn't paying her any attention what so ever. By the time she looked back up at the raised platform, Umbridge was going back to her seat and sitting down. Dumbledore started clapping slowly, which in turn started the rest of the hall slowly and uninterested doing the same. No one seemed too happy about the new professor though.

_**A/N: Okie dokie. I'm getting chapters up quicker just like I promised! I'm glad someone got the irony of the last chapter with George mourning the ear btw :P I'll try and keep getting chapters up at a weekly or two weekly rate, the next chapter may not be very long, so I might join it with the one after. There's going to be a really interesting chapter when we get to 54 or 55 depending on if I join them I think, so you'll have to keep waiting for that ;) Please review, I love hearing whether you guys like what i'm writing, and it makes me want to get chapters up quicker, so you know what to do! Z-Nugget xx**_


	52. I Must Not Be Bad

_**A/N: I'm trying to update every Thursday in case you haven't guessed :P Thanks for reading, Z-Nugget xx**_

Glumly Mia made her way down the cramped corridor, carefully stepping between other students, mostly first years, who were spread out in packs trying to navigate their way around the school. She'd opted out of going to breakfast early for precisely that reason, and had hoped they would have all rushed to lessons early and gotten out of the corridors. Apparently that wasn't the case.  
Thankfully only fifth years had Defence Against the Dark Arts today, so once she reached the staircase there were only a few stray students still hanging about. Climbing the stairs slowly, Mia went over the facts. This would be their first lesson with professor Umbridge. She seemed far to 'nice' to actually _be_ nice. She would most likely expect everyone to sit by someone in their own house. Mia didn't exactly have many friends in the fifth year of Gryffindor, so that wasn't that bad a fact, but she certainly didn't have friends in the fifth year of Slytherin, or any of Slytherin for that matter. That was a bad fact. This lesson was not going to be fun.  
The room looked the same as it had last year when professor Moody, or at least someone who looked like professor Moody had been teaching, but the students did look considerably more relaxed than then. Most people had already arrived, though the brunette kept her head down and refused to let herself peer around at who was actually here. Instead she went to the first empty seat there was, next to a tall Slytherin girl which she vaguely recognised and glared at her on sight. Choosing to ignore her, she keep her eyes on the board at the front of the room.  
Someone had charmed a paper bird to do a mixture of floating and flying around the room, gliding over people's heads as they tried to swat it away or catch it, everyone watching making 'ooh' or 'awh!' sounds when whoever tried to hit it missed. And then without warning the rogue paper burned and fell to the nearest desk.  
"Good morning children" everyone turned to the back of the class where professor Umbridge now stood, still in pink, but minus the cost at least. "Ordinary Wizarding Level Examinations" she said, whilst walking down the isle of seats, her wand pointing at the blackboard and making the words repeat onto it. "O.W.L, more commonly known as owls." Well wasn't she good at stating the obvious. The entire class already knew that, was it really necessary to spell it out. Literally. "Study hard and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so and the consequences may be," she paused, a smile coming to her lips as she gave a half shrug "Severe" this time she followed up her little speech with pointing her wand at the books on the desk and making them float the tables, one landing in front of each student. Mia peered at hers distastefully. _Dark arts defence basics for beginners_? How on earth would any of this do any good? Most of them already knew all the basics, and the basics wouldn't help anyone if they were in a real life situation! "Now, you'll be following a carefully constructed, ministry approved course of defence magic, yes?" Hermione had put her hand up.  
"There's nothing in here about using defence spells" Mia frowned opening her book and flicking through it. She was right, all it was really was a book of what not to do in a dangerous situation, which a according to the book was fight back, instead you should stand perfectly still or run away. Wasn't that the advice they gave people if they were about to be attacked by a dog?  
"Using spells?" Umbridge asked in disbelief, giving another little very annoying laugh "I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom" everyone seemed to blink in unison. She was expecting them to not use magic for a class based on magic?  
"So we're not going to use magic?" Ron asked in confusion.  
"You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk free way"  
"But what use is that? If we're going to be attacked it won't be risk free" Potter had a very good point, and to show her support Mia gave a small nod. Not that anyone took any notice of her.  
"Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class!" the niceness to her voice had disappeared, and it seemed like she had to take a minute to recompose herself again as when she turned round, the pleasant smile and calm voice was back. "It is the view of the ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations!" she hand gestured forward to the class, "Which after all, is what school is all about"  
"And how is theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" Harry argued back, clearly getting annoyed.  
"There is nothing out there dear. Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourself?"  
"Oh, I don't know, maybe, Lord Voldemort?" people started to mumble around the room and the smile on Umbridge's face began to slip.  
"Now let me make this quite plain. You have been told that a certain dark wizard is at large once again. This is a lie"  
"It isn't a lie. I saw him! I fought him!"  
"Detention Mr. Potter!" Umbridge shouted, walking back to the front of the class, but Harry wasn't done.  
"So according to you Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?"  
"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident-"  
"It was murder, Voldemort killed him! You must know that!"  
"ENOUGH!" she shouted, everyone looking up, eyes wide "See me later Mr. Potter. My office. You too miss Lestrange" Mia finally took her eyes from the book to the women in pink, thoroughly confused. What had she done?! She hadn't said a word since she'd gotten into the room and unless Umbridge was a mind reader she really hadn't done anything wrong.  
"Why?" she demanded finally, her voice filling the silent room.  
"We will talk about then" And that was all Umbridge would answer before continuing with her lesson of reading from the book.

ZNZNZN

Mia stood outside Umbridge's office, scowling and waiting for Harry to finish. The two had been waiting quietly in the classroom, both expecting to do lines together, though what the Slytherin's would say was anyone's guess. Potter had been called in first and she'd been told to wait silently outside. Twenty minutes later and Harry finally emerged, holding his hand and shaking his head slightly at her before disappearing down the stairs and out of the classroom. Mia raised an eyebrow, but went into the office anyway. There wasn't anything else she could do.  
"Miss Lestrange, please have a seat." Mia shrugged to herself and sat down in the nearest chair, fluffy and pink much like the rest of the office. There were even plates with cats on then.. The women truly was mad. Then again, she did work for the ministry.  
"Now, I trust you know why you're here" Mia blinked, twice. Was that meant to be a trick question?  
"No, I didn't say anything during class" which was exactly true. Umbridge gave one of her very irritating giggles  
"Oh silly girl. You are not here because of something in class. You are here because you're mother is a very bad women" she blinked, again. Really that was all she could. Well, that and assume the pink women indeed was mad.  
"I still don't understand why I'm here"  
"We can't have the same thing happening to you! We need to set boundaries and punishments to make sure that doesn't happen" Mia stared in disbelief.  
"Are you being serious?" she hadn't seen her mother in nearly fifteen years, how on earth would she be anything like her? The only similarity seemed to be the black hair.  
"Of course. Now, using my quill that's on the table I want you to write lines. I think 'I must not be bad' ought to make the message sink in" The Slytherin made no attempt to pick up the quill. Umbridge couldn't give her detention for who her parent was surely. This had to just be some insane joke. Dumbledore wouldn't allow it. No one in their right mind would allow it. "Now Miss Lestrange. I can assure you, you won't be leaving my office until this has been completed." Finally, seeing no other option Mia took the quill, pausing at the paper. Wouldn't she need ink? Glancing over her shoulder she was about to ask when Umbridge just shook her head. Fine, if she didn't want to give her ink it wasn't her fault if she couldn't write much. 'I must not be bad' she wrote once in curving hand writing, her brow furrowing as her left hand started to sting. Trying to ignore it, she wrote again 'I must not be bad' again her hand stung, more this time. 'I must not be bad' 'I must not be bad.' The stinging had reached the extent that the brunette had to stop writing and look at her hand, eyes widening as she saw the sentence had been transferred into her skin, trickles of blood running onto the desk.  
"Has the message sunk in now Miss Lestrange?" Umbridge asked, peering over her shoulder. She didn't say anything in response, couldn't. She was in too much shock. This was like some twisted torture technique, not something to use on students. The image of Harry walking off early holding his hand flashed in Mia's mind and she realised this is what Umbridge must have made him do as well. "If it has then you may leave now" She didn't need to be told twice, standing up and nearly knocking the link fluffy chair over she grabbed her bag and rushed from the room, taking the stairs two at a time until she was out of the classroom.


	53. Sinking In

_**A/N: Ok so I know it's two days late, but it's a pretty long chapter as I've started to join short ones together. Do you prefer that than lots of shorter ones? Enjoy, review, keep reading etc. Z-Nugget xx**_

Over the next few weeks Mia noticed several things happening. The first, and probably most obvious was Umbridge being present in most of her lessons, quizzing the teachers on everything from why they didn't get the job they originally applied for to giving a prediction about the future. The second thing the Slytherin noticed was all of the sudden new rules, ranging from no kissing in the corridor (not that that really applied to her) to the banning of all 'Weasley Wizard Wheezes' which were all nailed into the wall just outside the great hall. And the third was that after every defence against the dark arts lesson Umbridge felt duty bound to give her a detention in which 'I must not be bad' was cut into her hand so many times it would permanently leave a scar. She vaguely wondered if Harry was having the same treatment.

So it was no real shocker to find a crowd gathered outside the courtyard, professor Trelawney and Umbridge standing within the circle of students. Trelawney had what looked like to be all of her possessions packed into five trunks in front of her and was begging to stay,

"Please. Please. Hogwarts is my home. You- you can't do this" She whispered numbly, clutching her flowery scarf in her hands.

"Actually, I can" replied Umbridge, holding up a folded piece of paper. From where Mia was stood, which was behind several tall fourth years so really wasn't much (the downsides of being short) she could just make out the ministry seal on the side. At that point, whilst she was on tiptoes, professors McGonagall appeared, pushing her way through the crowd and over to Trelawney. "Something you'd like to say dear?" Umbridge almost challenged, still smiling.

"Oh there are several things I would like to say," She began, but was cut off by the castle doors banging open as the head master walked out. Umbridge, wearing the pink coat once more, didn't look remotely phased.

"Professor McGonagall, might I ask you to escort Sybil back inside." McGonagall nodded, gently taking her by the arm and leading her back towards the doorway. Trelawney gratefully grabbed Dumbledore's hand as she passed, thanking him before disappearing inside.

"Dumbledore," Umbridge started rudely in her high, uptight voice. "Might I remind you, that under the terms of the education decree number twenty three, as I am appointed by the minister-"

"You have the right to dismiss my teachers. You do not however, have the authority to banish them from the grounds. That power remains with the headmaster." Umbridge didn't say anything at first, and it was almost as though you could see the clogs turning within her messed up pink head. Then she glanced around and tilted her nose high in the air.

"For now" And with that she trotted off quickly into the castle. Dumbledore wasn't far behind, disappearing before anyone could say anything about what had just happened. Mia stood still for several minutes, watching as everyone started to disperse back into the building. She had a free hour until her defence against the dark arts lesson, and vaguely wondered if she'd still be given detention if she didn't bother to turn up. Or maybe Umbridge would just forget about her. That wasn't very likely though was it. Subconsciously she ran a finger across the slightly raised, bumpy cut on her hand. She'd started to write smaller and lighter in the detentions in an attempt to minimise the scar, but it really hadn't worked. Glancing up, green eyes catching icy blue, the Slytherin quickly dropped her hand. Not that it really made any difference as the blonde turned instantly and stalked off, seemingly oblivious to anyone but himself.

ZNZNZN

"They're not going to want me there." Mia stood, arms crossed over her chest, wearing a stubborn look as the twins tried to drag her out of the castle.

"Of course they are. You're great at defensive spells. No one could touch you!" She glared at George.

"That is exactly why this is a bad idea. I'll put people off if they know i'll be using magic. They'll be too scared to show up" She muttered, digging her heels into the snow which had covered the ground within the last few days. It wasn't thick yet, and only really went up to the bottom of their shoes but it was bound to get higher.

"Or more people might come to see what actually happens!" she glared at George again.

"Come with us now, and decide afterwards" Fred suggested finally, looking at the Slytherin square in the face, his hand dropping from her arm. Reluctantly Mia nodded, sighing loudly for exaggeration and shoving her cold hands deep into her black coat pockets. As they walked part of her wished she'd worn one of the hand-knitted jumpers off Mrs Weasley like the twins were, the fabric of her coat not really doing much against the wind. Though it did look better than the twins did... yellow, green and orange really wasn't a good mix in one top.

"Why did they pick such a secluded place" The brunette complained not liking to have to clambered through now thick piles of snow that hadn't been cleared away. "Couldn't we just have used the Hogs Head or the Three Broomsticks considering it's only a meeting? I mean, it's not like anyone's going to be doing any actual spells today." Fred shrugged, offering his hand back to help Mia over a section of snow which reached just under her knees. "At least there's no way Umbridge will over hear us here. I can't see her walking through this."

Once they'd found the little pub and sat down, most people had already arrived. Mia recognised a few, over eighty percent were fifth years, though she realised she was the only Slytherin.

"Uhm, Hi" Hermione said, standing up. The trio were all sat at the front facing towards the crowd who filled the small space. "So, you all know why we're here. We need a teacher." She paused, correcting herself "A _proper _teacher. One who's had real experience defending against the dark arts."

"Why?" Someone in the group asked, who Mia couldn't place except that they were maybe in Hufflepuff.

"Why?!" Ron asked back sounding incredulous, "Because you-know-who's back you toss-pot" Mia smirked and received a light shove from Fred who had also grinned.

"Hypocrite" She whispered. He didn't respond.

"The point is, where's the proof?" The same boy in the crowd asked again. "If Potter could tell us more about how Cedric Diggory died..." Harry stood up,

"I'm not going to talk about Cedric, so if that's why you're here, you might as well clear out now." He turned to mutter something to Hermione, though Mia was only able to pick up 'They think I'm some kind of freak' and 'leave.'

"Is it true you can produce the patronus charm?" A voice asked near the back. Everyone turned to the white haired Ravenclaw who Mia was almost certain was called Luna. Her last name had escaped her though.

"Yes." Hermione answered for Harry who was standing very still "I've seen it"

"And- and he killed a basilisk, with a sword in Dumbledore's office." Neville added in trying to be helpful. Mia swallowed as she remembered the event clearly, from thinking Ginny might be dead to the hug Draco had given her when he'd actually seemed like he'd cared. No. She scolded herself. Don't even start thinking about that.

"And in the third year he fought off a whole group of dementers single handed" Thank fully they were still listing Harry's achievements, so it gave her a distraction.

"And last year he really did fight off you-know-who-"

"Alright!" Harry half shouted, stopping Hermione. "Look, it all sounds great, but the truth is most of that was just luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I nearly always had help. Facing this stuff, in real life is not like school. In school, if you make a mistake, you just try again tomorrow. But out there, when you're a second away from being murdered or watching a friend die right before your eyes. You don't know what that's like." Harry took a big breath in after his speech and sat back down, all the previous excitement now drained from the room.

"You're right Harry, we don't. That's why we need your help." Hermione smiled down at him, then addressed the rest of the room, "Because if we're going to have any chance of beating You-Know-Who, we need you" And just like that, everyone was convinced to sign up.

"Right" Harry said as the group walked back to the castle. Most had chosen to stay in Hogsmede for a while, so it was only the trio, Neville, Ginny, the twins and Mia who were now walking along the bridge. The two girls were holding onto each other to stop skidding on the icy bridge, which was working fine until Ginny lost her footing and fell down backwards, dragging the Slytherin down with her. Mia let out a squeal as she bumped onto the wood before bursting out in laughter, grateful for Fred to suddenly be behind her, hands under her arms to haul her back upright. Ginny looked more embarrassed than anything that Harry had just seen her fall over and quickly scuttled to stand up.

"First we need to find a place where Umbridge won't find out." Potter carried on once everyone was walking again.

"The shrieking shack?" Ginny suggested directly to Harry. Mia blinked. That was the first time in history that she could remember Ginny actually saying something besides hello to him.

"Too small" He dismissed though, which caused the little red head to frown.

"The forbidden forest?" Hermione questioned, but was shut down by Ron,

"Not bloody likely."

"Harry, what about if Umbridge does find out?" Wow. Ginny seemed to be on a roll today. Not that Harry was the one who answered. It was Hermione,

"Who cares! I mean, it's kind of exciting isn't it, breaking the rules."

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Ron asked, causing the group to laugh. Mia missed the end of the conversation as she turned to the twins.

"Is that why you always break the rules, because it's exciting?"

"Not exciting as such" George began, letting Fred finish.

"More, just incredibly fun to annoy teachers."

ZNZNZN

Mia stood two places behind Neville and Ron as everyone stared at the wooden target in front of them. Surprisingly it had been Longbottom who'd found a place to practice, 'The room of requirement' which appeared whenever someone was in need. The room itself was quite bare, and vaguely reminded her of the Slytherin common room. There were several stained glass windows that let in light, mirrors and wooden death eaters with targets on their chests to practice on. And the best part was it was almost impossible for Umbridge to find them!

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea" she whispered to the twins who were just behind her as Neville's wand barely went flying over their heads, several people having to duck to avoid getting hit in the eye.

"You'll do fine!" They encouraged, and she did. It took two attempts, but when it was the Slytherin's tern (and she was still the _only _Slytherin in there) to disarm the death eater, after one mishap of her own wand nearly flying from her hand, she then managed to perform a decent expelliarmous, a grin taking up residence on her face for several hours afterwards.

Lessons carried on this way for several months, doing little, meaningless work in Umbridge's Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons and then practicing actual spells in the D.A. Mia's birthday came and went with little celebration, not that she really minded. The twins got her separate presents this year, which was a little strange. George gave her more of the treats they'd been working on whilst Fred got her a scarf. It looked handmade, and quite possibly by Fred himself as by the end of it it had somehow doubled in size from the start. But it was the thought that counted.

She had to sit out for the one to one D.A lessons, all participants in agreement that it would be too dangerous. But she was still able to take part in group activities of levitating people, as long as she wasn't the one being levitated. In fact, the only difference in the next few months was when Umbridge had began to question everyone. It started with the first years, and slowly the second years, third years, fourth years and finally it was the fifth years turn. It was done in alphabetical order, and once one of the D.A members had been they'd instructed the rest not to say or do anything and you'd be fine. Mia was roughly in the middle, and did not enjoy the experience one bit. She was already far too familiar with the pink, cat filled office and subconsciously gripped her left hand when she sat down. But there was no quill on the desk today, only a cup and saucer recently filled to the brim with steaming tea.

"Do drink up dear, standing in that room must have made you parched." It was true. For some reason the Defence Against the Dark Arts room had been stiflingly hot, an odd occurrence considering it was winter, which just made her determined not to drink the tea.

"No thank you, I'm not thirsty." Umbridge's smile momentarily slipped into a frown.

"But I insist, just one little sip and you might find you're desperate for a drink." Now Mia was getting suspicious. Though there was no way she could say no. Instead she lifted the cup slowly to her lips, making sure to keep them firmly shut as she pretended to drink it before placing it back down. "There we go" Umbridge said, sitting down behind her desk, smiling again. "Now dear, are you involved in any out of school activities?" The brunette blinked. Was she expecting anyone to actually say yes to that question? Who would willingly out themselves and friends like that? But it seemed like she was certain people wouldn't be lying to her, and completely certain Mia wouldn't be lying now. Was that because she assumed she'd be too worried about getting another detention? Or had she spiked the tea. Given Umbridge's reputation, it could be either.

"No. That would be breaking the rules" She replied coolly, keeping her voice steady. How did Fred and George do this lying thing so easily?

"And would you know _anything_ about anyone breaking the rules with clubs?"

"I must not be bad, and it would be bad to tell lies, isn't that right professor?" Umbridge looked rather smug at that reply, nodding in agreement.

"Yes, that's right Miss Lestrange. I'm glad to see your detentions are sinking in"


	54. Broken Knuckle

_**A/N: Ok, so I know people want more Mia and Draco, so i've decided to join this chapter with the one after to give you that. I also think this is the longest chapter i've written on here... And on a final point, i've recently found the traffic graph thing, and realised each new chapter is getting over 100 new views within the week of me uploading it, which is so amazing as i had no idea that many people were reading this. So thank you all so very much. Z-Nugget xx**_

"Stop! No stop it!" Mia screeched as cold snow was dropped down her back. Fred was holding her still, pinning her arms down to her sides with his own, so George was able to pour the snow down the back of her coat and shirt.

"It's D.A training!" George suggested, grinning from ear to ear as he took a step back to admire his handy work. The Slytherin scowled in between her shivers.

"How in any vague sense of the term 'training' is this involved?" She felt Fred shrug behind her. The twins had both been banned from the house until the Christmas dinner was cooked and Mr Weasley was settled in nicely, and Mia had been used as bait to keep them outside.

"How in any vague sense of the term is it not?" Right now she was really regretting agreeing to it though. Finally breaking free of Fred's arms she took several steps backwards, slowly bending to scoop up a huge handful of snow and regretfully wishing she'd worn gloves.

"So I'm training right now?" She asked, a small smirk forming on her features as Fred started to retreat shaking his head.

"Training's over!" He shouted and began to run around in a wide circle to stand next to George, "And it was his idea"

"No it wasn't!"

"Yes it was"

"It was your idea"

"Don't lie!"

"I'm not, it was yo-" Their argument was cut short when Mia decided to split the snow in half and throw it at both of them. George faired slightly better, getting his in the chest as it was thrown with her left hand, but Fred had been hit squarely in the face, the icy water now trickling down his jaw.

"See, you're learning" Fred said after several seconds, his usual grin returning from the shocked look that had been on his face. George didn't look quite so pleased.

"Was your idea" he muttered at his brother, before trudging back to the front of the house and disappearing into the doorway. Mrs Weasley still wouldn't be pleased, but there was no way Mia could be blamed for that, right?

"Genius little Slytherin" Mia looked from the doorway to Fred, raising an eyebrow. George was known for being the brother who'd sulk over things for a few hours, it had been the same when Hermione's cat had eaten his extendable ear, so she didn't really think anything of it anymore.

"Of course I am, and I'm not little" Now it was Fred's turn to raise his eyebrow, walking the feet to stand in front of her, peering down. Ok, even Mia knew she was little, but it wasn't something she was going to admit right now. Instead she stood up on her tip toes in a vain attempt to make herself the same height. It didn't work, not by a long shot.

"Little" He repeated, placing a hand on her shoulder and pushing down so she stumbled backwards a step off her toes. "Lovely and little" she shrugged, deciding that was better than just little. Before she could respond though, both were called into the house for the Christmas dinner, putting an end to any more activity in the snow.

ZNZNZN

– Now onto the Mia and Draco stuff. Kind of...

Glancing over her shoulder Mia grinned at Fred, still unable to believe he'd done so badly in his previous potions O.W.L's that he was having to retake some of the classes. The failure in question was sat hunched over a piece of paper scribbling furiously, a thoughtful look on his features. Turning herself round fully and kneeling on her own chair so to be almost sat backwards Mia tried to take a look.  
''Nu uh'' Fred protested, covering the paper with his arm. ''Secrets'' The dark haired girl scowled, propping her elbows up on the back of the chair.  
''That's not very nice'' she stated making a grab for the paper but missing it as he pulled it further away. Mia laughed as he stuck his tongue out, thinking about how childish he was, though the laugh died away as soon as Draco walked in, pansy draped around his arms like a cheap coat. He gave a cruel smirk as he went past the two, sitting three desks over and letting Pansy cosy up to him. Anger flared up inside her, along with several other feelings that she refused to let show and instead chose to take a different approach. It probably wasn't the best idea, and certainly not one she'd fully thought through, but since when did anything she did get thought through. Leaning further over the back of her chair so she was closer to Fred, and making sure it was at a time when the blonde was glancing over, Mia closed the gap and pressed a long, slow, drawn-out kiss against the 7th years lips. Ok, so it wasn't really fair to use him to get back at Draco, and she knew it wasn't. But she did like him, maybe not quite as much, but Fred sure wasn't complaining. In fact one of his hands had almost immediately gone around her waist as if attempting to pull her over the table and he nearly did if it hadn't been for the Slytherin gripping the back of her chair with her right hand, surprised his mouth was responding so eagerly. She retreated at that point, not wishing to end up on the table or risk tumbling to the floor, pulling back before she did actually end up on his lap and sat back in her chair properly. Risking a glance behind she noted Fred was beaming at Ron, who was a few tables in front looking just as dumb found as ever, but only then did Mia realise most of the room had stopped to stare at them, or rather, _her_. Several people were looking back and forth between herself and Draco, though Slytherin's prince merely looked bored. Well, the goal of getting any reaction from him didn't happen then, but it wasn't a total failure. At least Fred looked as if Christmas had come early and it wasn't as though the experience had been horrible. More sweet really. Before anyone could say anything Snape walked in and began speaking, cutting off any possible chances of conversation between anyone.

_Draco's pov:  
She was laughing when I walked in, a laugh I hadn't heard in a long time. I wanted to smile and laugh with her, but that just wasn't possible. Instead I kept Pansy close even though all I wanted was to just push her away and smirk as I walk past. I sit in my normal spot, my annoying 'girlfriend' taking the seat that was once Mia's not that long ago. I wish it were still hers now. For some reason I look up, directly at Mia but instantly regret it. She moves forward and kisses that stupid weaslebee! How could she do that and make it seem so casual!? It took all of my strength and will power not to stand up and punch the blood traitor right there. How dare he kiss her! I stayed still though, keeping the betrayal I felt off my face and locked away. Every inch of me had gone numb, yet somehow my blood was boiling at the same time. People were starring at her, Merlin's beard knows I would have been one of them if I could have brought myself to move. And there were those few people that had caught on and were looking back and forth repeatedly from me to Mia. It's good that she hates me and has moved on, that's what I need to keep reminding myself. It's keeping her safe. But I'm not sure if I can take it anymore. Everyday it's harder, having to keep a facade. Well, that I've done my whole life, but with Mia I could just be myself. Now she's the one I'm lying to the most. I hate it. I hate my father. I hate my mother for not doing anything, though I know there's little she could do. But I hate myself most of all for going along with this. I tell myself I agreed because it would keep her safe, but really I'm just a coward, doing anything to avoid another lashing from his wand. Snape's started talking, he started a while back but I haven't heard a word, instead I sneak careful glances at Mia, always lasting less than 3 seconds and never when her attention is in my direction. Weasley has moved his table closer to hers, a note getting passed into her free hand that was dangling down from her chair. I want to know what it says, but its probably for the best I don't. Whatever was written on it made her smile slightly, not a true one like she used to give me, but it got more than I have had in over a year. Then again, we haven't spoken for that long, since the night of the Yule ball to be exact. I think that's what will make me crack first, just to have a conversation with her. I need to know if she likes that blood traitor or if she's playing a game like me. Part of me hopes it is a game, to try and get back at me for what I've done, but that would mean she still has feelings for me which would inevitably be very bad and have disastrous consequences. So why when I see her do I keep thinking back to __**our**__ kiss? I fear the memory will fade if anymore time paces, and I won't be able to remember the feel of her mouth on mine, her body held tight within the confines of my own. That's what scares me the most right now. Forgetting my memories with Mia. _

ZNZNZN_  
_

Mia made an excuse immediately as soon as class ended, agreeing to meet up with Fred later to 'talk', though she was going to see how long it could be avoided. Instead she padded through the halls, trying to use the quietest ones possible and ended up by the far courtyard. Outside was completely empty due to the downpour the sky was giving, and as the chill was seeping through the open windows so was the joining corridor. That's where she decided to sit. Most students would already be in the second class now, so the Slytherin sat on the stone floor, pulling her legs up under her chin she hoped professor Sprout wouldn't notice her absence. Thinking was more important anyway, and if she did get another detention, that would just mean more thinking time. This was a win win situation either way!

She stood up as the classes ended, not too bothered that she'd missed all of herbology and walked back towards the main corridors. She was just turning left about to go up a staircase when someone grabbed her arm, stopping her mid step. "wha-" she started but was cut off by Ginny's accusation. "Did u kiss Fred?"

"Wow news really does travel fast"

"What do you think you're playing at?" Mia raised an eyebrow, unsure of what her friend was on about, what was wrong with her kissing Fred? It was harmless fun. Ok so it was Ginny brother, but if Mia'd had a brother she wouldn't be acting like this is her best friend had kissed him. Hell, she could try kissing Tonks if she wanted, she wouldn't go mad at that. Not that she could really imagine Ginny kissing Tonks...

"Huh?" _Oh what a brilliant response._

"It's obviously to anyone you're not over Malfoy and I won't let you use my brother against him" Ginny said, a glare covering her normally sweet features, where as Mia looked like a bucket of cold water had just been thrown over her. This was coming from her 'friend'? How dare she say that!

"To not be over him would suggest something had been going on, which there hadn't!" she hissed back, matching the others glare. Ok so technically it was a lie, but no one else knew of the kiss, and she was pretty sure Draco wasn't about to reveal that to anyone.

"Just stay away from my brother" The red head warned before pushing past her, though didn't get very far as the Slytherin gave her a harder push back in response. Ginny stumbled slightly, catching her balance then made a lunge for the other, yanking her hair in the process. Mia let out a scream of pain, swearing loudly and retaliated with a similar hair pulling, causing a cat fight to break out. Although she soon changed that by punching Ginny in the cheek, both girls falling to the floor where the fight carried on. Mia's hands were around the redheads neck by the time someone from the gathering crowd stepped in, ironically the brother in question who was now attempting to pull then apart.

"It's none of your business who I kiss!" the 5th year shouted, trying to lunge at Ginny once both were upright again, her eyes flashing dangerously dark, though Fred managed to keep them apart, one at each end of his arms.

"It is where it's my brother!"

"You're always saying you hate him why should it matter to you now?!"

"Because you're using him against Malfoy!" she dived at her previous best friend again at the comment, not wishing to admit the slight truth in it. It didn't seem to bother Fred, or if it did he didn't let on and just continued to try and separate them.

"Will you both stop!" he pleaded, ducking as Ginny tried to swing at the other girl. As the twin was caught off guard Mia slipped under his arm, her arm pulled back, hand in a fist ready to punch her again, but a pair of hands grasped her around the waist and pulled backwards before she was able to. She struggled, trying to get back to the fight.

"I'm gonna kill her!"

"That's fine but filch is coming" the person's voice spoke into her ear, and she was too angry right to put a face to it. He had a point though, if filch was coming they'd all be in trouble and it really was best to leave the area quickly. So with that now in mind Mia let the voiced person continue to drag her off, a glare on her features at Ginny who was just pointing and saying something, but she was now too far away to hear what.  
The person continued to drag her around a corner, out into the courtyard and stopping at the edge of the shelter. The rain was just missing them, but the wind was beating down, sending a shiver down her back. Although the shiver could've just been caused by the other person pulling her back against their chest. She began to struggle and pull away, but then she finally put a name to the earlier voice when they finally spoke again.  
"Did you kiss him the same way you did with me?" Mia froze, her whole body going numb. He hadn't spoken to her in months, not one word or even a look in her general direction, so what was going on now? "Did it give you the same thrill?" she wanted to say yes, that Fred was just as good as he was, better even. But that would be a lie and they both knew it. The truth was when she and the blonde who was now stood against her had kissed, everything had been perfect and right, complete happiness even for that brief time, whereas Fred was nothing more than nice, sweet at most if not a little too eager. And she doubted Fred could make her feel alive, not like right now just by a single touch.

"What do you want?" she asked as his fingers entwined through hers, brushing his other hand against her thigh.  
"Kiss me" from the second Draco had seen the two kiss his self control had been called into action, and now that resistance was slipping. He'd left potions in a hurry, missing his charms class and going up to his room instead. But Pansy had been looking for him after so he'd had to escape through a hidden door. It had taken him to the far side of the school, where a fight was breaking out. The Weasley girl was shouting something, and he couldn't help the smirk on his features as one of the twins pushed his way forward, obviously attempting to help his sister. Although the next thing caught his attention, not so much the words but the voice.

"Why should it matter to you now?!" That was Mia. Without thinking twice, or thinking at all for that matter he pushed his way to the front of the gathering crowd, his eyebrows shooting up at the sight unfolding. The Weasley girl was on the floor, Mia's hands tightly around her neck, though the twin was tugging her off and holding her at arm's length.

"Because you're using him against Malfoy!" If it had been possible for Draco's eyebrows to go higher they would have. The thought had crossed his mind at the time, of course it had, but he'd dismissed it almost instantly. Mia made another lunge at the redhead, and before Draco knew what he was doing he'd grabbed her waist and was pulling her backwards. Technically Filch wasn't coming, and what he said to her was a lie. But the squib would be there soon if the fight carried on, so it was really for the best.  
But now, as he stood so close to her, the faint smell of lavender from her shampoo drifting up to his nose, it really didn't seem like such a good idea.  
"Kiss me" he repeated again, a husky tone to his voice as his lips pressed against her neck. And Mia almost agreed. In fact if it hadn't been for the sudden thought of what had happened last year, she would have done as he'd asked within seconds. But the imagine of Pansy draped over his shoulder came into her head, and just that alone was enough for her to take a step forward.  
"You disgust me"  
"Then why are you still holding my hand?" Mia looked away whilst pulling her hand free, wiping it on her skirt for dramatic effect.  
"What will it take to get you to kiss me?" he asked finally, once she'd turned around to face him.  
"Tell me why you want to, and 'I'm Draco Malfoy' doesn't count"  
"What more is there?" he knew the answer to that, they both knew the answer to that but he didn't want to admit it. He did want to admit anything.  
"Three words, eight letters. Say it and I'm yours" she said, spelling it out for him. Even after all the pain he'd caused she could forgive it, if he'd just say that one small phrase.  
"I... I-" Mia finally looked up to meet his eyes, swallowing the lump that had appeared in her throat.  
"That's what I thought" she said quietly, turning to walk back into the castle, refusing to let any of her feelings show but Draco's words made her freeze again.  
"Fine, I always preferred Pansy anyway" he said, his tone snide as he stepped out into the rain, his hair sticking to his forehead instantly. The brunette turned quickly, rage filling her whole body. Whether he meant it or not, he'd said it and there was nothing he could do about it now.  
"Pansy doesn't know about your past though does she!" she shouted over the rain, "Or your father, or back-" she'd begun to walk towards him, heading out into the downpour and getting drenched within seconds, but now started to retreat as he turned, standing in front of her again in an instant, a pure glare on his face.  
"Don't you dare" he hissed, backing her up against a wall. Mia looked up at him, unsure how to react. She'd never seen this side of him before, and it scared her. Not that she was going to let it show.  
"Why shouldn't I? Don't you want the whole world to know about your lovely father? That maybe Draco Malfoy doesn't have such a charmed life after all?" she spat, pressing her palms against the stone building, trying to create a bigger gap between them. Draco raised his arm up, hand curled into a fist, moving it through the air quickly. She shut her eyes, turning her face to the side but he chose to punch the wall instead, An internal war happening inside his head.  
"You really are your fathers son" Mia said, half in shock of what was happening, looking up at him in time to see the hurt that flashed across his eyes. He took a step back, his arm going back to his side, blood trickling from his knuckles down to droplets on the floor mingling with the rain.  
"Take it back" the threat was still in his voice, but so was sadness and terror.  
"Leave me alone"  
"Take it back" he repeated. Before Mia could respond however another figure appeared, walking over quickly and stopping just behind Draco.  
"You heard her. Leave." she looked over at the figure, unable to think of a time when she'd heard Fred's voice sound so cold or threatening. Apparently Draco felt the same way, as he took another step back before stalking through the courtyard and into another part of the castle.  
Mia stayed where she was thinking over everything that had just happened, finally turning her attention to Fred as a thought hit her.  
"How much did you hear?" she asked in a tiny voice, barely audible over the rain, not bothering to hide her worry. He wouldn't be able to make sense of some of it, but there were still things it was better he didn't know. Fred ran his hands down his face, letting out a long sigh.  
"It started with talking about a kiss, carried on through him being unable to say he loved you, and ended with a possible broken knuckle" he paused unable to meet her gaze, "_Did_ you only kiss me to get back at him?" ok, so he'd heard everything. That was potentially problematic; however that wasn't the big issue right now. In all honesty she hadn't _only_ kissed him to get back at Draco, it had been for the sake of liking him as well.  
"No." she said earnestly, waiting for him to look at her. "I do like you Fred" he just shook his head slightly.

"It really seems that way" he said sarcastically, a sound the brunette had never really heard from him before. "Maybe you should try showing it sometime" Mia bit down on her lip as he spoke, wanting to cry but reframing. That would t help matters at all. Nothing would help matters, except showing him, maybe... Taking his advise she moved closer, placing her hands on his shoulders and stretching up press her lips against his. Well, it was the easiest way to show it really, though in the back of her mind as his arms slowly went around her waist, his mouth moving against hers, she imagined it was Draco. A blonde head of hair that her hand was going into not red, a body slightly shorter that was holding her close. The 5th year was the first to pull back, her breathing coming quicker than usual. No. She couldn't kiss Fred whilst thinking of that. Even she agreed there was a line and that would be jumping over it. At that point the chill from the wind began to set in, adding onto the everlasting rain and Mia was shivering like there was no tomorrow.  
"Come on" Fred said finally, keeping his arm around her shoulder as he led her back into the castle.  
Neither of them noticed the blonde figure stood at the other side of the courtyard, having just witnessed yet another kiss. He hadn't meant to, and certainly hadn't wanted to. But once he'd ascended the first set of stairs Draco had glanced out of the open window, the event locking him into place. How could she say such things to him then happily be seen with that Blood traitor again? Then again, she probably hadn't counted on anyone seeing that. He'd been stupid. That was as plainly obvious as his hand which was throbbing, his knuckles most likely broken. She'd said she'd be his if he'd told her he loved her... But he couldn't do that. Not just because of himself and the fact he'd never told anyone that before in his life, though that probably had something to do with it. No it was because that's when he began to get back to his senses. If he'd said that it would have put them both back at the very beginning with Mia being in just as much danger as she was before. No, it was better this was. It was always better this way, but not by much. But for the first time in a very long time, since his father had punished him for showing weakness at the age of 5, Draco Malfoy felt the need to cry, a single tear escaping before he could swipe it away with the back of his hand angrily, a searing pain shooting through it and blood smudging his cheek. It really wasn't better this way.

_**A/N: I've had this chapter written for ages, not sure if i'm 100% happy with it, so it might get edited. But leave me a review, what did you think? Z-Nugget xx**_


	55. Whaaaay

_**A/N: Still sticking with short extracts all put into a long chapter. I had an amazing review on the last chapter, and has helped me get this one typed up in time :P However, I have English coursework due in next week along with two mock exams I can't do bad at, soooo this means the next chapter will probably take longer than usual and won't be up by next Thursday. I'll aim for the Thursday after though. As always, review review review, they make me happy... xD Z-Nugget xx**_

Sleeping arrangements suddenly, once again, became very awkward. Mia had gone straight back to the common room, Fred's arm still around her shoulder as all conversations halted, accusing eyes falling onto the outsider. Ginny was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm getting my things" she muttered to Fred, slipping out from under his arm and rushing up the stairs. If she'd had any luck the fourth year girls dormitory would have been empty, but once gain she was instantly under scrutiny as the door swung open. "I'm just getting my things" she repeated, keeping her head down and quickly pushing everything from her table and draws into her trunk. Thankfully the brunette hadn't really unpacked that much, mostly living out of her suitcase, so it took only a few minutes to be finished and haul it from the room. Of course the problem came when trying to get it down the stairs. Seeing no other option, Mia took her wand out, opting for magic to float the trunk to the common room. People still stared when she reappeared, but seemed to lose attention within seconds.

"Where are you going to go?" Fred asked with a sigh. He'd initially suggested she share with him and the rest of the seventh year boys, but there were numerous problems with that that didn't even need explaining. So there really wasn't much point in her staying in the Gryffindor common room longer than necessary.

"Technically I still have a bed in the fourth year Slytherin dorm..." Fred really didn't look happy with that solution. "I'll be fine" It felt like that was her new motto or something. And he still didn't look happy. But there was nothing else that could be done. So with that Mia levitated the trunk again and stomped through the portrait hole.

Of course the problem occurred when getting to the Slytherin portrait and getting asked for the password. Ah, password. Now the Gryffindor one, easy. Slytherin on the other hand. Problematic. It took twenty minutes for a first year to come scuttling along and provide her with the unimaginative password. More stares proceeded with the walk through the common room, green gloomy lighting not something she had missed, case floating dutifully behind and up the stairs. There were three girls in the room.

"What do you think you're doing?" the one closest demanded. Mia ignored her for several seconds, floating the trunk over to the empty bed and standing in front of it.

"This is my bed, in my dorm room, in my common room." She held up her finger, cutting off the same girl just as her mouth opened. "I don't care what you think, or want or even need. I am staying in this room. And you will not be asking me anything, not going through my things and not even talking to me as I doubt you really want to. But I will be staying here " Mia finally took a breath, lowering her hand. "Is that clear?" She wasn't sure what exactly had come over her, but suddenly she wasn't in the mood to take any crap.

ZNZNZN

As the weeks past Mia found herself spending more and more time in the library. It wasn't as if she wanted to, but there was suddenly a lack of places she was welcome. The Gryffindor common room wasn't exactly off limits, and it was fine when she was with Fred, but alone everyone just glared and whispered. So, when Fred was busy and with the new curfew in place, the only place the brunette found sanctuary in was the library.

"Closing Miss Lestrange, please return to your dorm room." Sighing, and defeated, the Slytherin stood up, slowly closing her potions book and placing it back on the shelf. At least one plus side of this was her grades had become excellent. She managed to make the walk back to the common room last fifteen minutes, and thanks to a general rule, by midnight everyone was in bed. Taking that into account, and how much her room mates despised her, Mia trundled over to the most secluded puffy arm chair and collapsed back. It was strange not having fire places to make the common room cosy. Well, that wasn't strictly true. There was one fire place in the Slytherin common room, but didn't seem to work any long.

"You're back" The brunettes head snapped up towards the voice.

"I've been back for weeks" She informed as the voiced person frowned. "You were just too busy to notice." His frown deepened. "That looks painful" He followed her eyes down to his bandaged hand.

"It is."

"Why didn't you go to the hospital wing?"

"And say what?" Mia sighed, running a hand through her hair. Clearly this was going nowhere.

"Why are you talking to me?" Draco seemed momentarily perplexed, the cogs slowly turning as he tried to come up with an answer.

"I don't know" he said finally, shaking his blonde messy head and padding off up the staircase.

"Prick" Mia muttered, pulling her legs up onto the chair and shutting her eyes.

ZNZNZN

DA meetings had also become a little difficult. Hermione, who had been so worried of another fight breaking out, had made sure each girl was always at the opposite end of the room and never practicing in the same group. It worker ok she guessed, but really wasn't that great.

They were practicing the patronus charm today, much as they had been for the past few months, it being a lot harder than anyone anticipated. A handful had managed it once or twice so far, though Mia was not one of them.

"This is never going to work" she muttered negatively, wand dropping to her side. Normally she excelled at charms, but this one just wouldn't work.

"You have to concentrate" Harry said whilst walking over, "Don't think of any distractions, just dementers and the charm." The brunette huffed, raising her arm again. It wasn't that easy trying to clear your mind, but once she thought she had, she tried again.

"Expecto patronum!" It was brief, very brief, but a small ball of light erupted from her wand, forming into something similar to a dog, but not at the same time. It had larger, sharper, teeth, pointy ears and a long bushy tail, all appearing in a yellowish-tanned glow. And then it was gone, her concentration slipping. Although that could have been due to the chandeliers suddenly shaking.

"What's going on?" she asked Fred and George when they walked over, everyone gathering in the middle of the room just as the big mirror smashed. Involuntarily Mia grabbed Fred's hand. He squeezed back. There was a small hole in the bricks, and as soon as Harry stepped closer the whole wall exploded back into the room. Mia turned away to avoid the dust, assuming Fred was pulling her closer for the same reason. When she turned back round she realised that might not have been the case. Umbridge was stood at the front of the group, flogged by Filch and the rest of his stupid little squad, including a blonde haired Slytherin, grinning smugly as he held a struggling Cho Chang.

"Fantastic" Mia grumbled.

They'd all been subjected to Umbridge's 'special' detention for taking part. The devil in pink sitting at what had been Dumbledore's chair before he disappeared, the rest of the DA sitting at the desks and copying down individual lines into their skin. Mia had been given 'I must not be bad' again, which had previously started to heal over, opening up once more. Everyone was furious by the time Umbridge let them go, most holding their hand to their chest and scurrying off quickly.

"Why's yours so bad?" George asked as he and his twin caught up in step with Mia. Fred took her hand, lifting it up to get a better look.

"It's fine. She's been making me do it in every detention since the start of term." They both looked shocked.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" She shrugged, attempting to pull her hand away but Fred held on. "It won't happen again." He promised, finally letting go as the three started walking again.

They didn't get very far, stopping again when they noticed a first year sat on one of the walls crying and clutching his hand. Umbridge really had been busy. Fred sat down beside the boy, George crouching down in front of him whilst Mia stood awkwardly at the side. She was no good at this comforting thing, but apparently the twins were.

"It'll be alright" They soothed, "It'll stop hurting soon." Mia stood, mouth hanging open slightly having had no idea they were so good with little children. But given the fact they had a younger sister who was temperamental to say the least, it was probably to be expected. Someone coughed up a head, an annoying little cough the brunette recognised instantly. Somehow she'd also only just noticed Harry standing in front of them. She really wasn't in an observant mood today.

"As I told you before Mr Potter, naughty children deserve to be punished" Ok, so if it hadn't been noted before, it was now clearly and plainly obvious to say that Umbridge was a complete nut job who really needed sorting out. And apparently the twins were having the same thought pattern, because whilst she was talking the twins had stood up, turning to one another as Umbridge walked off.

"You know George, I've always felt that our skills lived outside the world of academic." George grinned,

"Fred, I was thinking exactly the same thing" Mia closed her eyes, this could never end well.

And it didn't. Well, at least not for Umbridge. The fifth years were all sat in the Great Hall, precisely half way through their theory of charms exam when banging from outside could be heard. Umbridge quick walked from the front platform to the double doors and opened them, all heads turning in anticipation to watch as a charmed fire work flew into the room and exploded into blue light. After five seconds 'whaaaaay' could be heard down the corridor, getting louder and louder until two identical red heads burst into the hall on brooms, throwing down fireworks to everyone who had previously been doing their O.W.L's. The whole fifth year had stood up in unison, most cheering the twins on as they high fived and threw more fireworks. Mia couldn't help but laugh, especially when Fred swooped down to take her hand and pull her up onto the broom behind him.

"You're mad" She shouted over the noise just so he could hear, holding onto his waist. Mrs Weasley was going to kill them, but that didn't need to be mentioned until afterwards. The fireworks continued, and now that she was on the broom the Slytherin could see both twins had bags over their shoulders which were containing the explosives. Both red heads suddenly hovered next to each other, a bigger than the rest firework in Fred's hand that he waited to use until George gave him the thumbs up. When it was dropped it exploded into a massive red and orange dragon, which chased Umbridge from the hall, ending with another explosion that in turn caused the rules hammered into the wall outside to break and fly off the wall. Everyone followed the twins outside as they flew off into the sky, Mia holding on tighter the higher up they went, and then, just like that there were a giant 'W' in the sky. "How about we go back down?" She suggested, her head buried into the redheads back. It wasn't that she didn't like heights that much, more that being on a broom made for one person was never going to end well and that wasn't a drop she'd like to experience when it was very unlikely someone would catch her this time. Fred shrugged, nodding at George before descending. The other brother stayed in the sky, weaving in and out of the clouds and waving to the crowd.

"How can you not like flying when you're on the quidditch team?" Fred asked once they'd landed, both jumping off the broom and taking several steps forward. They weren't in the courtyard, Fred choosing the back off the school instead, closer to the owlery.

"I do like flying, I _don't _like falling from great heights"

"You wouldn't have fallen" She raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You wouldn't! Am I not a trustworthy person?" She kept her eyebrow raised. "Oi" Fred's hand reached out in his friendly manor to take her own, grinning foolishly. "Say I'm trustworthy" Mia shook her head, grinning back.

"Nope, you would've let me fall" He opened his mouth in protest but nothing came out. "Exactly! You're guilty" He was still grinning when he sat down on the grass, looking up at her with sad puppy dog eyes. "And that is not going to work. It's wet!" He continued with the look until she gave in. "You're a horrible horrible person, how do you sleep at night?" the brunette asked whilst gingerly sitting cross legged.

"Comfortably in my nice warm bed, you should try it sometime" One of Mia's eyebrows raised.

"Are you propositioning me Mr Weasley?" She questioned, trying to keep a serious face, but the idea of it made her crease with laughter.

"Of course" Whatever facade she'd been trying to keep up was gone with that comment, and she was all but rolling on the ground, the wet grass leaving green stains on her previously white school shirt. And then, without warning Fred was kissing her in between the laughter, both mingling together rather nicely.


	56. How Ironic

**A/N: Hi! Ok, I'm REALLY sorry it's been like 2 months since I've updated. It wasn't on purpose, I've just been incredibly busy with college and A levels, and family issues, and having a social life and just major writers block. But I've gotten the chapter done now, and I think it's the longest one I've written, so please don't hate me . As always, please review (I'm more likely to update if you review :P) and thanks for reading.**

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"What's going on?" Mia questioned, standing from the stairway she was perched on. The trio seemed in a rush, just shaking their heads. Ginny merely glared, keeping hot on Harry's heel, but Neville and Luna slowed down enough to explain.

"Sirius is in danger, Harry thinks we can use the fire place in Umbridge's' office to get to the ministry and save him!" Somehow Neville made it sound like something out of a super hero film. Then again, maybe it was. Either way Mia didn't question it, following them all the way to Umbridge's' office, only stopping when the rest went inside.

"I'll stand watch" she said, peering inside the door as the rest gathered around the fire place. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to go, but rather didn't want to be in the same room as Ginny. Harry was knelt down, quietly saying something to the group and Mia craned her neck around the door to try and hear. Unfortunately that meant she wasn't actually 'looking out', so didn't notice the group advancing until one of them had their right hand over her mouth and was holding her still with their other. Before the brunette knew it, she was getting pushed into the room, where the rest of the group were also being held, with Harry sat in the chair. Mia continued to struggle until the hand around her mouth dropped. Then she began to shout.

"Get our hands off me Malfoy!" she spat, earning a glare from Umbridge, though that was ignored. What wasn't ignored however was how still Draco had suddenly gone. She'd never called him by his last name before and even though it didn't bother him when everyone else did it more than bothered him from Mia. It meant she was likening him to his father and that killed part of him inside. The blonde didn't let it show, well except for the not moving or breathing for several seconds, but all emotion was kept from his face.

"Ah, Snape" Umbridge said as the potions master appeared at the door. "The time for waiting is over. They are going to tell me the truth whether they want to or not. Now did you bring the veritaserum?" Veritaserum? That was the truth telling thing right? Why on earth would she want to use that, it was illegal... Then again, Umbridge didn't strike you as the kind of person who played by the rules.

"You used up the last of the schools stock interrogating the students" he answered in a monotone voice. Mia frowned, thinking back to her interrogation. She's sat down at the desk, and Umbridge had been very adamant she drink the tea. Of course, the old women had basically drugged it. So if any of the members drank it...

"Unless you wish to poison him, and you would have my up most sympathy if you did, I cannot be of assistance". Umbridge just shook her head, and Snape turned to leave, but was momentarily stopped by Harry.

"He's got Padfoot! He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"

"What?" Umbridge asked in a shrill voice, glancing between Harry and Snape, "What does he mean? Where what's hidden?" Snape shrugged,

"I have no idea" and with that he left, walking straight backed out of the room.

"Well, you've left me with no option. I believe the cruciartus curse will be sufficient". Umbridge said, now disgruntled, whilst turning the photo of Cornelius Fudge face down on her desk. "This should loosen your tongue"

"Just tell her Harry!" Hermione abruptly shouted, fearing for her friend's life. Harry looked confused, torn. "There's a weapon" Hermione continued, and Mia had to give her credit, she was fast when thinking on her feet. "It's hidden, we can show you were". Umbridge smiled triumphantly, letting Harry up and walking to the door with him and Hermione.

"Stay with these" She instructed her inquisitorial squad and disappeared.

"Great" Mia muttered, struggling again. "Let me go!" Draco had already taken a step back as if she'd burned him, so the only place his and Mia's bodies were now touching was his hands on her arms, but he was not letting up. The next thing she knew Ron was talking and reaching into his pocket.

"I'm hungry" he complained, attempting to wriggle out of Crabbe's grip to get whatever food he had. Of course at the mention of food Crabbe reached in for him, pulling out a handful of sweets and shoving half into his mouth.

"S'good" he said between bites, and before long the whole inquisitor squad was eating them. Mia caught sight of the last one, recognising it as a puking pastel before it disappeared into Draco's mouth. Moments after the whole squad let go of their hostages, bending and looking as though they were about to be sick. Mia didn't hang round to find out, slipping past she, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna ran out the door, taking the least used corridors and only stopping when they saw Harry and Hermione on the bridge. Umbridge was no longer with them, and no one bothered to question where she was.

"So, how are getting to London?" Neville asked once Harry and Hermione had been filled in on their escape.

"Look, it's not like I don't appreciate all you've done, all of you, but I've got you into enough trouble as it is" Harry started walking towards the castle again, determined.

"Dumbledore's army was supposed to be about doing something real! Or was that all just words to you?" This time everyone stared at Neville "We are going with you" he added stubbornly. Mia had to give him credit, she wouldn't have been the one to stand up and demand to go. In all honesty she wasn't sure it was a good idea to begin with.

"How would be all get there?" Harry finally asked, which was a very good question. They couldn't get back up to Umbridge's office, not with the state it would be in now, so the flu network was off limit. The only other thing that came to the Slytherin's mind was brooms, but only a few of them actually owned one, so...

"We fly of course!" Mia scowled at Luna as if she should've been following her thought pattern.

"How?"

ZNZNZN

Apparently she wasn't following anyone's thought pattern as they ended up on thestrals, made slightly worrying by the fact Mia couldn't see them. Harry, Neville and Luna all could because they'd witnessed someone die, but the others had to put their blind faith in not falling to their death. She spent the whole time with her eyes tightly shut, gripping on to an invisible neck of the creature below her and praying for it to be over. As soon as ground was near she threw herself off, clutching at the floor as if it was her salvation, and it was.

"I am _never_ getting on that thing again" She stated. "What now?" Mia had never been to the Ministry of Magic before, so had no clue how they were to get inside. The thestrals had landed them at what appeared to be an empty London street, with a bright red phone box positioned aimlessly in the middle.

"In there" Harry instructed, pointing at the tiny phone booth. Now, Mia was no expert when it came to muggle objects, but she was quite sure they weren't made for seven people to fit into at once. And she was right, they really weren't. Ginny went in first, prompting Ron, Harry, Hermione, Neville and Luna pilled in after, the Slytherin squeezing into the tiny gap and pulling the door shut. It was uncomfortable to say the least, and Mia could honestly say she never intended to get so close to Neville again in her life.

"Ok, now someone ring 2947" Harry instructed as everyone attempted to reach the phone. Clearly the brunette wasn't the one who succeeded, given her position by the door, but someone managed it because a high pitched voice burst from the phone.

"Welcome to the ministry of magic, please state your name and business" Mia frowned, what on earth were they going to say? Give their full names and state they were here to save the infamous Sirius Black? Evidently so, as Harry did just that with the substitution of his godfathers name. Badges then hovered above them, which Mia was able to grab down and distribute, pinning her own 'Mia Lestrange, rescue party' onto her purple and white jacket. "Please sign in at the front desk" The voice piped up again, triggering the phone box to slowly drop into the ground much like a lift would. Thankfully it wasn't a long way down, yet the small space still became very hot and cramped. They all stumbled out once it had come to s top, Ron nearly landing on a disgruntled Slytherin. She had time to notice that the ministry was completely deserted, before having to run after the group0 who had started to leave her behind.

Only Harry had been to the ministry before, so they all followed without question, sliding into a lift (bigger this time than the phone box thankfully) and went down to one of the bottom floors.

"Department of mysteries" The lift said when the door slid open. A long, never ending black marble corridor awaited them, lit with bright white contrasting lights.

"This is it" Harry said after glancing around, slowly walking forward. Mia wasn't exactly sure what 'it' was, considering she'd never bothered to ask more than what was going on earlier, but she could guess it was to do with where Sirius was being held.

Eventually a door came into view at the end of the corridor, rich blue with a shiny metal door handle in the middle. Potter pushed it open to reveal a dark room full of glass balls. Prophecies. That was what was in each small ball, an insight into important events, important, life changing futures. Mia knew it all too well, one of the balls contained her own prophecy.

Not that she was meant to know that. Just after her third birthday three people from the ministry had called round to the Tonks'. A thin stern faced women, flanked by two tall middle aged wizards. Nymphadora had been out that day, and Mia had been sent to bed. But she'd stayed at the top of the stairs, listening to what was said, to what amount of uncontrollable power she would have. Of course, the ministry didn't know the full extent, they'd never actually _heard _her prophecy.

"He's here somewhere" Harry whispered, snapping Mia back to the current situation at hand. The trio were using their wands to light a small patch up a head, yet Sirius was nowhere to be seen. Maybe Harry had gotten it wrong. At least, that's what the brunette thought until a crash was heard to the left. All heads turned, wands at the ready in anticipation. But nothing happened. "Come on" Harry instructed, rushing down the isle's suddenly in search of a number on the side. Whether he found it or not Mia never knew, as Neville stopped before hand and pointed up to another shelf.

"Harry" he called, "That one's got your name on it." They all stopped in unison, looking up into the Smokey white ball. Harry reached forward, lifting it off the shelf, seeming entranced as it spoke to him. And only him. The others couldn't hear the prophecy, which turned out to be a good thing because they were instead able to hear footsteps. A death eater had emerged down one of the isles, now walking slowly towards them.

"Harry" Hermione mumbled worriedly, causing the boy who lived to turn back to them.

"Where's Sirius?" He demanded, though Mia didn't pay attention to the answer. She was too busy looking at the snake head cane in the death eater's right hand, watching as he pulled his wand from it and knowing instantly who it was, hatred and anger clouding her judgement as she flung a curse at him. He deflected it, carrying on as if it had never happened. His wand lifted up to his face, removing the mask and revealing what she already knew. Lucius Malfoy. The others seemed shocked.

"You saw what the Dark Lord wanted you to see" he said calmly, "Now, hand me the prophecy."

"If you do anything to us I'll break it" Harry threatened, holding it more securely in his hand. Then a cackling started to echo around them, and Mia was glad she hadn't been the one to hold the prophecy, if she had it would've been dropped and accidentally smashed to pieces.

"He knows how to play" The laughing voice said, coming into view. Yes, it definitely would've been dropped. Hell, she did well not to drop her wand and retreat back in the opposite direction. The women was middle aged, the same as Lucius, with rich black wavy hair and deep set green eyes. In fact, if it wasn't for the sneer on her face, Mia might have said her mother was pretty. "Itty, bitty, baby, Potter" The women continued in a taunting voice, stopping when she got to Lucius' side.

"Bellatrix Lestrange"

"Neville Longbottom is it? How's mom and dad?" Wow, her mother really wasn't a subtle person then. And clearly didn't recognise her own daughter either. Lucius had had enough of the talking however.

"Now now, all we want is that prophecy" he said, standing half in front of Bellatrix as if he could make her disappear.

"Why does Voldemort need me to come and get this?" Harry questioned back. Mia thought she knew why, something to do with only the owner being able to find it, which was why the ministry had never been able to hear hers, but she couldn't be certain.

"You dare speak his name?" Bellatrix whispered, eyes widening in shock. "You filthy half blood!" Great. Her mother really was barking mad. Lucius had started speaking again, explaining why only Harry could get the prophecy, but Mia's attention was focused solely on the women who she shared a last name with. Other death eaters were appearing around them, but still she didn't take her eyes off the older women. The other death eaters were getting closer.

"I've waited fourteen years" Harry said, eyes fixed on Malfoy.

"I know" for a second Mia thought he was about to hand the prophecy over.

"I guess I can wait a while longer" Never mind. "Now!" Harry shouted, and everyone started firing curses at the death eaters. Well, everyone except Mia who had clearly missed the part where 'now' meant attack, and stood dumbstruck for several long seconds. Then the group was running and she was once more at the back having to catch up. This time when a death eater appeared, mask still on, she was prepared enough to hit him dead on with one of the charms she'd learnt in the D.A and freeze them on the spot. She took extra pleasure in hitting the frozen person with the ball of her hand and watching as they fell to the ground.

"Come on!" Luna was then shouting, grabbing her arm and propelling her forward. They nearly ran straight into the rest of the group who'd been stood between two shelves. A death eater was coming towards them, but Ginny took care of it, shouting 'Reducto!' and watching as it was flung backwards.

Mia was just about to say well done when the prophecies started to fall from the shelves, much like dominos, crashing on the floor below.

"Get back to the door!" Harry shouted, and they were all running again, faster this time, Mia going flat out and reaching the door first. She didn't even pause before rushing through it, though certainly hadn't expected to find herself falling, screaming down a black tunnel. And then she was stopped, hovering above the ground until the rest of the group joined her and dropped onto the hard floor.

"Oomph" she muttered, standing up and rolling her shoulders. They were now in a circular room, with a large stone archway in the middle, mist swirling around inside of it.

"Get behind me!" Harry suddenly called out again, pointing his wand up at something the others hadn't yet seen. Swirling clouds of death eaters came down over them then, knocking their wands out of their hands and flinging them to separate sides. Mia found herself pulled back against someone, their fist in her hair, a wand at her throat. Harry was still stood in the middle, but for once Lucius wasn't focusing on him, he was looking at Mia.

"How ironic" he laughed, which was when the brunette realised who was holding her. Bellatrix pulled harder on Mia's hair, forcing her head up, confusion replacing the sneer.

"Why?" She questioned, and Mia couldn't help herself.

"Sure, Malfoy's not about to win father of the year, but at least he knows what his son looks like." It all happened incredibly fast. One second her head was held up, a wand at her throat, the next she'd been kicked in the back of the knees, stumbled to the ground and had her left arm yanked painfully into the air with Bellatrix's wand pressed into it. A searing pain shot down, from her finger tips to shoulder blade and the dark mark became on full view to the world. Bellatrix started to cackle again.

Thankfully she stopped when Lucius began talking to Harry, still keeping her daughter sat awkwardly on the floor.

"Did you actually believe, or were you truly naive enough to think, that you stood a chance against us?" He paused, walking around to the other side of Harry. "I'll make it simple for you Potter, give me the prophecy now, or watch your friends die" Harry glanced around at each of them, and Mia could imagine how hard it was for him right now, then he slowly lifted the foggy ball up, placing it into the older blonde man's hand. It all seemed to be over, they'd lost, at least that's how it appeared until a bright flash of light lit up the once dark room and several aurors, along with Sirius Black all arrived.

"Get away from my Godson" He ordered, standing in front of Malfoy and punching him in the face. Mia grinned, though didn't have much time to savour the moment, having to roll out of the way as a curse was flung at her mother who promptly disappeared, opting for flying around the room in a black mist cackling once more. That was beginning to get incredibly irritating. Ignoring it the brunette opted not to fight back and instead crouched behind a half broken stone pillar near one of the doorways. Sirius and Harry were fighting Lucius in the middle next to the stone archway, and he'd just been sent flying back from the platform thanks to Sirius who was now grinning triumphantly, when Bellatrix reappeared, her wand pointed at the older man,

"Avada Kedavra!" Sirius fell back into the archway, vanishing into the fog.

Then things started to go in fast forward again. Harry was shouting, crying and Remus Lupin was holding him back from the archway. Bellatrix was sneering again, directly at Harry and slipping through the nearest doorway, and then Harry was running after her. And then Mia was too. She had to admit the years of quidditch training had come in useful as she dodged past the aurors, running full speed after the other two. If it hadn't been for the taunting chorus of 'I killed Sirius Black', she would have lost them. As it was, she skidded to a stop just behind Potter, her mother lying on the floor, scowling, or rather pouting (though that wasn't a word Mia wanted to associate with the women doing at Harry) up at him. Then she started laughing at something behind the two teenagers. Mia turned around in time to catch Voldemort, his wand pointed straight at her,

"Avada-"

"Stop!" Bellatrix was the last person Mia expected to shout that, but she had, and it had worked. "It's her" she carried on, standing up and gripping the brunettes arm once more, sharp nails biting into her flesh. Voldemort peered at the dark mark for several long seconds, placing his wand on it this time, the pain so intense that it brought tears to her eyes. Logically there was no need what so ever to worry, if he did try to kill her, her 'other' side would kick in and fight back. But the logical side of her brain wasn't working right now. If it had been she would've made a break for it when he finally let go, arm dropping limply to her side. Instead the Slytherin just stood there.

She didn't even move when Dumbledore appeared in one of the fire places lining the room, but did finally take note they were back at the start of the ministry where the red phone box had deposited them.

"It was foolish of you to come here tonight Tom" Dumbledore said, "The aurors are on their way"

"By which time I shall be gone, and you shall be dead."

Curses started to fly between them, yet Mia was otherwise occupied. She'd been stood mere feet from one of the fire places, and now Bellatrix was somehow behind her, pulling her backwards as green flames engulfed them. Mia screamed, a word, a name, it barely even registered to her what or why, but Bellatrix was confused enough by the seemingly random change of location that Mia was able to slip out of her grasp, push open the nearest door and run. Up the first flight of stairs, up the second, down a long corridor and duck into a room.

It took her a moment to realise where she truly was, what place, who's place, who's room she was standing in.

_Draco_

There was no time to focus on it though, she had to hide! The room still looked the same. Minimal possessions, a desk, wardrobe, bed and bathroom. All of them were too obvious to hide in. But there was still that small space, if she could fit of course, the gap between the bed and the wall where you couldn't be seen unless they knew you were there. And she was betting Bellatrix wouldn't know she was there. Without a second thought Mia wedged herself into the gap, legs squished up to her chin at an odd angle just in time for the door to be flung open, nearly coming off its hinges. The teenager held her breath as he room and adjoining bathroom was searched, wardrobe door broken open and a curse cast at the bed that sent the sheets scattering across the floor. Then, after what seemed like a life time; or at least long enough for her to start feeling light headed for holding her breath so long, the slamming of the bedroom door was heard along with several curse words getting quieter as the older women stalked off. And then she still didn't come out from the gap. Instead she tried to spread out a little, though regretted it when she cut her finger on an oddly shaped floor board. Wait. The Malfoy's were rich, why would they have a dodgy floor board? After closer inspection Mia found that it lifted up, revealing a small hole in the floor. She knew it would be wrong to put her hand down and search, but it wasn't like she owed Malfoy anything.

It looked like it was empty at first, and it wasn't until the Slytherin pressed her hand right to the back that she felt anything. Giving a little tug, a small bundle came up, possessions wrapped inside an old green t-shirt. Carefully Mia unwrapped it, sitting in disbelief when she'd done so. The t-shirt held three things. The first probably shocked her the most, and she put the rest momentarily to the side. It was a book, an old book, and one that had been read plenty of times by its owner.

_Dracula_

"No" she heard herself whisper, then clasped her hand over her mouth and waited in anticipation for the door to blown open and her hiding place discovered. Luckily that never happened and she was able to turn her attention back to the muggle book. Slowly turning the pages, the birthday message that had been written over a year ago became visible. This didn't make any sense! And neither did the other two objects. The charm bracelet was in the pile, the one Fred had never returned with when he'd gone to collect the brunette's things after the Yule ball and she'd never had it in her to ask him what had happened to it. Three extra charms had been added on for the birthday and Christmases when it hadn't been in her possession and without thinking she slipped it onto her wrist, subconsciously touching the tiny dragon charm and watching as it blew a puff of smoke.

The final item was a photograph, taken at the end of their second year. A younger Mia was stood next to a younger Draco, shaking her head and laughing at something he'd said. He was smiling. Actually smiling at her. Mia gripped the photo and book, holding both close to her chest as she rested her head forward against the wall, sitting in complete and utter silence until she was eventually found by Narcissa Malfoy.


	57. What Do You Want From Me?

**A/N: Yes, I'm a horrible person I haven't uploaded in so very long, how dreadful of me, I'm surprised if there are still people following this tbh... BUT! My A levels have now finished, so I should have far more time for getting this damned story finished! Hazar! I also felt bad for not uploading, so I'm going to upload one today and another one in a few days I have mostly completed it. Enjoy the new chapter(s) :)**

Mia sat in a dark room attempting to slouch on a straight backed wooden chair. It was early morning outside and yet no light was streaming through the thin curtains covering the sole window. She guessed that had been done intestinally, along with her being put in the darkness and getting told her 'mother' would be there shortly. That was over two hours ago.

Narcissa had gone into Draco's room knowing the hiding spot her son favoured and found Mia easily. She'd waited patiently, not saying a word as the teenager wrapped the book and photograph back up, placing them carefully under the floor board once more. Mia had a sneaking suspicion the elder women had already known about the contests under the floorboard as well as the hiding space, but there hadn't been an opportunity to ask her about it as she had been taken straight to a dark, empty room.

Eventually a flicker of light from the doorway informed her she was no longer alone. The door closed again, removing the slither of light and heeled footsteps came up to the back of Mia's chair. When they made no attempt to speak, Mia decided enough was enough.

"What?" she demanded, standing from the chair to face her 'mother', arms crossing defensively over her chest. Bellatrix merely watched her. "What do you want?" Mia said again, voice raising slightly. The way the old witch was looking t her, as if she was some kind of experiment that should be poked, prodded and observed. Mia pushed past, half surprised when she wasn't stopped and walked towards the door. It had been locked when she'd been put in there, her wand confiscated and placed somewhere unknown, to prevent any escape attempts. But as Bellatrix had come in, clearly the door was now open. Gripping the handle Mia pulled. And pulled again and again. And then tried pushing just in case. Nope. It wasn't budging one but. Irritated she turned back to her mother, waiting. Still she didn't speak, her dark eyes trained to the younger's face. It was unnerving to say the least.

"What?" Mia almost screamed frustration and worry clouding her judgement. "What do you want from me?!" At that, Bellatrix side stepped Mia, easily opening the door and slipping out into the corridor, pulling it shut behind her.

The same thing continued for days, possibly weeks for all Mia knew. No light was let into the room, and foot and water delivered at seemingly random times and Bellatrix appearing at any hour of the day whether Mia was awake or not. It was like some strange form of mental torture. Initially she'd still demanded to know what was going on, why she was being kept in a dark room and why she was being watched. Even that got rather disconcerting after 20 times of silence being an answer so she'd stopped.

Now Mia sat in the chair, that had also become her bed, a look of what she hoped was nonchalance on her face. She didn't glance up when the door opened, asked no questions, nor really acknowledged Bellatrix. That was, until she spoke.

"Get up." Mia's head snapped round to stare the women directly in the eyes. It was still dark, but this time the door had been left open, cracks of light spilling through like salvation. How had she not noticed that before now?

"Why?" She stayed in the chair, taking one last quick glance at the hallway. This should be well thought out, not just make a dash for it. But after weeks of nothingness, her mind wasn't exactly in tip top condition.

"Get up" her voice implied Mia had no choice in the matter and was backed up when Bellatrix reached out to grab her daughters arm, sharp talon like nails once again biting into the delicate flesh and causing tiny droplets of blood to pool around them.

"Let go!" Mia shouted, struggling. The women had a vice like grip, but somehow Mia was able to pull free, kicking out at Bellatrix's knee, scrapping half the skin from her arm as she pulled free and ran towards the door. This time nothing stopped her, so Mia was able to flea down the corridor, navigating at random and hoping to end up somewhere recognisable. The net left was a dead end. Really, she should have thought this through, thought about where to run, preferably to a fireplace, and lead a daring escape. Of course Mia hadn't thought it through, hence now being backed up against a wall with the infamous Bellatrix Lestrange slowly advancing.

"Leave me alone!" Mia screamed, eyes flashing darkly due to the oncoming threat.

"Don't be a fool." The older women finally spoke, the cruel smirk once again on her haggard face. The logical part of her mind was saying relax, hold your ground, she can't touch you. But that held little comfort. The idea of her darker side coming through, being exposed and in full control with no anchor to pull her back to shore. No, that scared her more than going stir crazy alone in a room. And with that realisation she deflated, head dropping to look at the ground.

"Smart girl" Bellatrix said, oblivious to what had just gone on inside her daughters head. She took hold of Mia's arm again, pulling her down the hallway, taking several twists and getting pushed into another room with the door once more being locked and Mia left alone.

The same routine as before was kept up for several long days, although it helped that the new room was a library Mia spent most of her time reading, propped up in a plushy green chair which was also doubling as a bed much like the other hand, only it was much softer. It was ok, but there was a crick starting to form in her neck. Then things changed.

Food was delivered midday, but Bellatrix did not leave the room. Instead she sat in the spare stiff backed chair, flicking through the book nearest to her.


	58. Distraction!

**A/N: And just as I promised another new chapter in quick succession! I'm still debating whether I should change the spelling to 'Mya' considering that's how I've always pronounced it yet spelt it wrong... I shall try it and see if people get too confused... Also, long chapter! Woo!**

Draco had been home from little over a week after Hogwarts had broken up for the summer holidays. He'd confined himself to the solitude of his bedroom and must have gone over what Potter had told him more than 100 times in his head. When he'd found out Mya'd got herself involved in Merlin only knows what at the ministry he'd paced the Slytherin common room for hours until word had come back about people returning. He'd rushed up from the dungeons like a madman, eyes scanning the corridor but came up short. She hadn't been there. But Potter was. Once again without properly thinking things through he'd stormed up to the boy who lived and demanded to know where she was.

'_I don't know, Bellatrix took her. Why do you even care?'_ That sentence kept swirling around in the blondes head, each time like a physical blow. Of course he cared! And if Mya didn't know that... If she was alone or harmed or tortured. No. This was driving him insane. He couldn't just sit in his room and keep thinking the same horrendous things over and over.

Pulling on a clean pair of jeans and a dark t-shirt, not bothering with shoes or socks he shuffled numbly into the hallway and began to wonder through Malfoy manor not quite sure what to do. Sighing inwardly, Draco made his way to the dinning room to try and find his mother, she always knew how to calm him down when he started to fret about My.

ZNZNZN

Mya sat in the green chair still, a book of her own offering little escape. Her 'mother', the term being used lightly, was across the room, watching her intently.

"What?" She finally caved in and asked, her patience wearing thin. Obviously Bellatrix didn't answer and merely smirked continued to watch her. Scowling the teenager slammed the book shut, pushing it off her lap so it landed with a 'thump' on the floor.

"What?" She tried once again, barely able to control the distaste in her voice.

"Where did you get that?" Mya blinked completely thrown off guard.

"Get what?"

"The bracelet" Bellatrix's eyes travelled to the brunettes wrist, slowly sliding over the tiny charms of the bracelet. Mya started. What was she meant to say?

"It was a present" She muttered, folding her hands up in her lap to try and now conceal it.

"From who?"

"Why are you so interested in what jewellery I wear?" The Slytherin retorted, trying to keep her voice calmer than she felt. For some reason she knew it would be very bad if Bellatrix found out it had been a present from Draco.

"The Dark Lord has plans for you, any distractions will be taken cared of." The hidden meaning behind that terrified her. Not so much that she was involved in death eater plans, but what would happen if Draco ever got considered as a 'distraction.' Had she been considered a distraction? Was that what had happened last year? Why he'd changed within hours to wanting to hurt her? The realisation of that finally dawned on her and she was shaking her head without thinking. Bellatrix, oblivious gave a laugh, assuming her daughter had been referring to being involved in the Dark Lords plans.

"You should be elevated! You will be serving the Dark Lord and doing what you were intended to do" Mya ignored her still lost in her own thoughts.

The door opening caused both to look up. It was rather ironic then, to see the distraction in question stood right there, his mouth half open as if he were about to say something but in too much shock to fully get it out. He took a stumbling step forward, eyes firmly fixed on Mia. He'd feared the worst; that she'd been tortured or killed, never to be seen again. But she was right there.

"My" it came out in a half chocked whisper along with another stumble forward. And then she was standing up, not giving the other women in the room a single glance as she rushed forward. They were in each other's arms before Draco could process that she was really there. His hands were running all over her hastily, unconsciously checking that she hadn't been injured or was missing anything vital like an arm or leg. No, she was fine, perfect. As perfect as ever and here now in his arms. Her arms were around his shoulders, head tucked into the crook of the blondes neck for less than a second before she looked up. Draco took that as all the confirmation he needed, lifting the little brunette up and kissing her. It was rushed yet careful at the same time, it wasn't slow and relaxed like the first time either but needing if not a little desperate.

"I take it back" Mya whispered, her forehead leaning against his, green eyes staring intently into grey. It took him about to register what on earth the statement meant. He'd told her to take it back, what she'd said about him being like his father. He was half surprised she'd remembered. Draco smiled, for the first time in a long, long time actually smiled down at Mya and gave her another small kiss.

"Last year-" He began, but was cut off,

"I know" She did? How did she know he hadn't wanted to treat her like he had? Unless he'd done it that badly that it was obvious... That was when he noticed the thin silver chain on her wrist, the little charms dangling by his cheek.

"How did you find that?" Mya just grinned.

"Distraction!" Bellatrix called out in glee, jumping up and clapping her hands. Draco tightened his arms around Mya's waist and glared at the older women. He'd missed the earlier part of the conversation involving distractions, but it was obvious her excitement wasn't a good thing. She'd pulled her wand out and now had it pointed the blonde, a smirk wide on her face.

"No! No distraction" Mya back peddled attempting to get out of Draco's strong hold and block him from view. Not that he was going to let her.

"Back off" Draco growled, resembling the same boy who had shouted at her in the rain. At least this time it wasn't directed at her. But this wasn't going to end well. Mya had started slowly walking backwards towards the doorway, Draco's hand clasped firmly in hers as she tried to unnoticeably drag him from the room.

"Distractions need to be dealt with" Bellatrix instructed, her wand still pointed at the blonde. Mya struggled to get around Draco but it was no use, he wasn't about to let her move. Bellatrix's smirk only widened.

"Crucio!" She shouted with glee and that was all that Mya remembered.

Everything went dark for her, much like the other times and the next thing she knew Draco's voice was calling out to her. It was pulling her back into control, like a beacon of light in the darkness. She was getting flashes of Draco's face, worry etched onto his light features. Bellatrix was no longer stood in front of them, but the flashes didn't last long enough for her to locate the older women.

Draco was stood in front of 'Mya' his hands on both her shoulders. It wasn't that he particularly liked Bellatrix; in fact he'd like it very much if Mya had just killed the women, but she was important to the Dark Lord. And that meant it Mya did kill her, whether she was in her right mind or not she'd be in a terrible situation.

"Mya, come on this isn't you, you don't want to do this" He was looking her directly in the eyes, dark colourless eyes that held no similarity to the usually green ones. This was dangerous. He was perfectly aware of just how dangerous it was, and to be protecting Bellatrix! Oh the irony wasn't lost on him.

"I'm the one stood in front of you, look at me" He was trying to use a gentle voice, but Bellatrix was getting back to her feet, a feral snarl parting her lips. Black eyed Mya had cocked her head to the side, eyes bright in a child-like innocents. Of course there was nothing child-like about her, certainly not in this state. Her hand reached up to touch his cheek and it took all of Draco's will power not to flinch. It wasn't a loving gesture, not like it had been mere minutes ago.

"You don't want to hurt me" He whispered slowly, keeping his eyes locked with hers. This had worked last time. Well, sort of. This form had been about to hurt him, possibly kill him and then she'd been back to normal, shaken up but back to normal. The brunettes' eyes had begun to flicker from black to green once more, and Draco kept his hands tightly on her shoulders willing her to fight.

"My?" Her eyes had settled on dark green and Draco vaguely noticed the green streak had also returned.

Mya dropped her hand from Draco's face, slowly glancing over his shoulder to her where her 'mother' was stood. The older women looked furious, yet there was still a smirk on her face. Mya wasn't sure what had happened, but she could take a guess.

"I didn't-"she began, but was cut off by the door to the library opening and Narcissa rushing in followed by Lucius. He took one look around the room, eyes gliding over Bellatrix to rest on his son; whose hands were still on the brunette's shoulders.

"What were you told?! WHAT did I say about staying away from her!" he shouted, his voice making Draco cower. Lucius snarled walking over to his son and forcing his head up to look at him,

"You're to have nothing to do with her! The Dark Lord has great things in mind for you, and they do NOT involve this girl"

Draco shook his head, he couldn't not see Mia. Last year had been torture having to pretend he hated her, and the year before, having to pretend he didn't want to go with her to the Yule ball was too hard. He couldn't do that to her again. He wouldn't. Lucius snarled again seeing him shake his head. What had happened to his son to corrupt him so much? He never used to defy him.

"Hold her" Lucius instructed, and before Mya could process what was going on Bellatrix's hands were pinning her arms behind her back.

"Hey! What's going on? Get off of me!" She demanded, struggling to break free. It was no use, the old women had an iron grip. All she could do was watch whatever was about to go on between father and son.

Lucius lifted his arm up, wand in hand and bought it down in an arc aimed at his sons back. There was no physical connection, but a slash appeared in Draco's dark t-shirt, shortly followed by two more. Draco turned his head away from Mya clenching his fits and trying to keep the pain away from his face. Only his father didn't stop at three like he usually did. He continued until the pain felt like his back was on fire, until he had caused his sons knees to buckle and breath to come in quick, short gasps. He'd gotten used to the pain over the years, but it had never gone on this long, new cuts on top of even newer ones. Mya was screaming but Draco knew better than to look at her. He knew better than to look at anyone or make a single sound. His finger nails were biting into his palms in an attempt to distract himself from the next set of slashes though it didn't do much in comparison.

Mya watched in disbelief, unable to comprehend what was actually happening. She'd tried to imagine what Draco had gone through before, but thankfully the images never came. But now there was no need to imagine it. The startling fact that he made no movement at first, not even flinched from the initial few blows was horrific. And then Lucius wouldn't stop. He'd gone past 10, past 20 lashes and Draco's knees had given out as he'd fallen forward to the floor, barely being able to support himself on his hands. His face turned away from her direction, tears burning his eyes. Mya was screaming at Lucius to stop, her own voice so frantic she barely recognised it,  
"You'll kill him! Stop it! Stop it!" None of it was getting through to Lucius. She could hear Bellatrix's hysterical laugh behind her whilst the women kept her arms pinned back. It was sickening not being able to do anything. It was clear to say Mya had never been so furious in her life. Furious and terrified. She wasn't sure which one of the feelings had caused the tears but they were rolling down her cheeks as she screamed. Still Draco made no sound. Blood was trickling from under his short down to the floor in small droplets.

And then something that had never before happened occurred. Narcissa stepped in and took hold of her husband's arm in mid air, her own hand trembling.

"That's enough" Bellatrix seemed to also be in shock by what was commencing as her hold on Mya had gone slack enough for her to pull away. She rushed over to where Draco was on his hands and knees, dropping down next to him and covering his hand with her own, uncomfortably aware of Lucius towering over them.

"Leave" It was Narcissa's voice, calmer than any of them felt. Her hand was still holding her husbands are in mid air and she made no inclination to let go. Mya glanced up at Narcissa, cautiously avoiding Lucius' gaze. He hadn't made any counter action, nor opposed his wife's command at the two teenagers. Perhaps he was just in too much shock that she'd actually intervened. Taking that as all the conformation she needed, Mya hooked her hands under Draco's arms and carefully hauled him up to his feet. His face contorted in pain as he stood up straight and had to put most of his weight onto Mya to get out of the room. The door was slammed shut behind them.

"I'm fine." Draco muttered through clenched teeth, pushing himself off of Mya and slowly walking towards the stairs. He wasn't fine, it was obvious. She could see how hard it was for him to move forward, let alone up the stairs and it was painful just to watch. But he'd insisted he hadn't wanted her help with this, so instead the brunette walked a step behind, ready to help if need be.

Draco stumbled up the two flights slowly, his hands shaking as he held onto the handrail. If he could just make it to his room and come up with an excuse for Mya not to come in. But she would come in. She knew him too well not to see through the facade. Pushing the door open Draco made his way through his room to the bathroom, pausing in the doorway to mumbled something to Mya,

"Just-Give me a second" And with that he closed the door. Mya waited, shuffling around the room for several minutes, but with nothing more to do she paused at the bathroom door.

"Draco?" She called quietly whilst knocking on the door. He didn't answer.

"Draco?" Trying again and this time turning the handle, Mya edged the door open. Once it had opened fully she shuffled in, spotting the blonde sat on the edge of the bath tub. His fingers were gripping the sides of the bath, knuckles turned white from the force and breathing quick and laboured. The back of his shirt had been torn to thin scraps, most sticking to his skin from the blood. She must have made an involuntary noise as he slowly raised his head to look at her. He looked... broken.

"You shouldn't be here." Mya shook her head, going over to sit beside him on the edge of the bath tub. Did he mean here in the bathroom or here in general?

"I'm so sorry" She whispered.

"Don't. It's not your fault." That offered little consolation.

"How can you say that? You can't honestly believe that" Draco had turned his face away when she'd sat down, but now he looked straight into her eyes.

"I never hated you last year" he sighed, letting go of the bath with his right hand and running it down his face. He'd gone off topic, well, kind of, but she was just glad he was speaking. "You have to know that. I never hated you, I never could hate you. It's the complete opposite!" He started to sound frantic, rushing on, "I wanted to speak to you, be with you. I needed to. I really did… but he said if I did you'd get hurt and I couldn't risk that. I would never risk that. You have no idea how hard it was to see you at the Yule ball. When you came down the stairs, I-I can't even say what I _wanted_ to do." A small smirk flashed across his features, disappearing as he went on, "And instead I messed up. I watched you the whole night you know? Dancing with that blood traitor..." Mya blinked back tears, her hand covering his. She hadn't known that. Hell she'd spent the whole night trying to avoid him thinking he'd been having too much _fun_ with Pansy. He hadn't hated her... Not really. He'd been trying to protect her and her pride had been hurt too much to realise it. Part of her wanted to apologise, over and over but he'd just brush it off like before.

"How can I help?" She tried instead, taking a different tactic and referring to his back. Some of it was visible through the t-shirt, and it wasn't a pretty sight. It would be even worse without it on.

"Run away with me? Or elope... I'd accept eloping too" Mya gave a very small laugh resting her forehead against his momentarily. This wasn't the time for joking around. But at least he was grinning a little...

"Fine, we'll elope. Where would you like to elope to?"

"I fancy Peru" Mya made a face,

"Why Peru?"

"What ever happens in Peru?" She had to give him that.

"Fine we'll elope to Peru. First though..." This time it was Mya's turn to trail off as she once again looked at the back of his t-shirt. "I'm not sure to get it off-"And Draco, being the stubborn fool he was lifted the shirt up and pulled it over his head, along with whatever blood and skin had been stuck to the back of it. Mya had to cover her mouth. Without the shirt on it looked so much worse. Over half the skin on his back had been taken off along with most of the old scars reopening. He must've been in excruciating pain. How could he just sit there?

"I could've cut it off or something" She muttered in annoyance. Draco shrugged then winced at the movement. Sighing Mya clambered into the bath tub to sit directly behind him, taking the shower head off the hook it was and turning it to the lightest setting before turning the water on. Her jeans were soaked fairly fast but that was that last thing on her mind right now.

"This is probably going to hurt" Draco nodded but didn't say anything. He was used to pain by now, never to the extent of what had just occurred, but the pain of getting the wounds taken care of would be nowhere near as bad. That was enough encouragement for Mya, who lifted the shower head up to lightly Draco's shoulder where most of his skin was still intact. The water trickled down his back mingling with the blood. His hands had tightened on the edge of the bath again and his breathing was becoming short.

"Want me to stop?" he shook his head.

"Just get it over and done with" Mya nodded slightly moving the shower head along his shoulders, though still reluctant to point it directly at the worst of his back.

"Just. Do. It." Draco growled through his teeth. So, reluctantly she moved onto the middle of his back, carefully attempting to wash away the blood. Draco cried out once involuntarily tensing all the muscles in his back, but apart from that he stayed silent until it was over. Most of the blood had come off, leaving the cuts open but not openly bleeding any longer. It looked slightly better than it previously had, but it still wasn't a pretty sight, and still hurt like hell.

"Ok, that's most of it off" The younger Slytherin said standing up and placing the shower head back on the hook. Her jeans squelched as she climbed out of the bath, causing a little puddle of water to form at her feet. Rather worryingly there were several roles of bandage cloth in the bathroom cabinet, that Mya then proceeded to as carefully and gently as possible wrap around his whole back, crossing over his left shoulder and tying it neatly at the bottom.

"Thanks." Draco stood up rolling his neck from side to side and padding back out into the bedroom with Mya following. The room was well lit initially until the blonde strode over to the curtains and roughly pulled them closed. Clearly he wasn't interested in letting light in. After closing the curtains he sat down on the bed, hunching forward slightly and letting out a long breath.

"He has a task for me… That's what father said…" Draco sighed not wanting to know what this task the dark lord had in mind was. It would involve getting the dark mark though. His father had been telling him for the past year what a privilege that would be. Mya looked down at the floor and nodded once, acknowledging what he'd said. She decided to not mention the same had been said for her yet. That wouldn't help either of them. Instead she walked forward aiming to sit next to him on the bed before realising her jeans were still dripping. Shrugging to herself she removed them, leaving them on a pile on the floor and hoping it wouldn't water damage the carpet then joined him on the bed. Being careful not to touch his back or shoulders, Mya leant her forehead against the side of Draco's, placing a small kiss on his cheek.

"You won't be alone, you know I'll help, right?" Draco didn't respond at first, finally turning his head to look at Mya, a faint smile ghosting his face.

"I've missed you so much" He whispered trailing his right hand up and down her arm. His knuckles were scarred from where he'd hit the wall last year.

"You shouldn't have done that" Draco followed her gaze to his hand sighing inwardly and biting back a retort about Mya shouldn't have kissed Fred. And settled for a simple,

"I know" Instead. Believe it or not he hadn't gone into the situation with the idea to punch a wall. He hadn't even gone into the situation with the idea to make a move on Mya. He hadn't even gone into the situation on purpose! "I didn't intend to believe me." She nodded knowing it was true. "I saw you after with him" Mya frowned trying to recall back to what had happened. They'd been arguing, Draco had scared her and then...

"Fred?" Draco nodded. She'd kissed Fred after, half desperate to forget what had just gone on seconds before. But she hadn't known Draco had still been able to see. Part of her wanted to apologise, though she wasn't sure what for. He'd been doing god knows what with Pansy, so why should she be sorry for doing very little with Fred over the past year? As if Draco had been thinking the same thing he said,

"Nothing happened with Pansy. She jumped me a few times, but you know" Mya's frown deepened.

"Why didn't you say it then?" She asked. This time it was Draco's turn to frown,

"Say what?" Mya gave him a look and he sighed. Right. Those damned 3 words. "I've never said it."

"Not even to your mother? She stopped him earlier" Draco nodded,

"I know, she's never done that before, but he's never gone past three at one time before" Mya noticed he'd steered the subject away from the original topic.

"You really never have said you loved anyone?" She wasn't about to let this drop. But Draco equally didn't want to talk about it.

"No. Never. So I can't just start. You know I care about you, you better know that My, now can we please just drop it?" Mya wasn't sure how to respond. It really wasn't the answer she thought would be right or she had looked for. It was more comforting than what had been her worst theory, that he hadn't said it because it wasn't true, but in a way it was worse. Even after everything she'd seen and known, Draco was more damaged than even she'd realised.

He lay down on his stomach, pulling the duvet up to his waist but no further. Mya moved down under the duvet leaning on her right side to face the teenager, placing a light kiss to his lips.

"You shouldn't stay in here" Like hell she wouldn't. There was no way she would leave. What if his father hadn't had enough and decided to come back? At least if she was here she could try and stop it.

"You know I'm not leaving, and you really need to stop telling me what I should and shouldn't do." Draco's eyes had already shut, but he moved his hand to Mya's waist, slowly stroking small circles with his thumb.

"You should do as you're told" He mumbled finally, keeping his eyes closed. Mya merely shook her head, moving closer to his side, though making sure there was no contact with his back.

"Shh."

**A/N: Also, i've almost reached 100 favourites on this story! Which is amazing in itself, so thank you all for favouriting. AND the story is just 3 reviews away from 150, so for the special person who leaves the 150****th**** review I'll let them ask ANY question they want and answer them in mail (so you need to be logged on) just leave your question with the review, and be imaginative! Don't go for the obvious question ;)**


	59. Just Like When They Were Younger

**A/N: So no one complained about how I spelt Mya/Mia in the last chapter, so I'll be sticking with the new version. I may edit this chapter as I'm not sure about the transitions, we'll see. **

Over the next month Mya made sure to stay out of everyone's way in the manor. Draco had locked himself in his room once more, letting only the brunette in on a daily occasion and sneaking her out late at night when no one was around. She did what little she could to help soothe the pain on his back, but the cuts were taking longer than usual to heal.

"Come on" The blonde in question was now stood beside her as they walked to the platform, several paces a head of Lucius and Narcissa. Thankfully Bellatrix had decided against joining them on this pleasant family outing.

"Would you rather we just make a break for it and _run_ onto the train?" Mya hissed back, attempting to keep pace with the youngest Malfoy whilst pushing black waves out her eyes and regretting not tying her hair up earlier in the morning. He ignored her. They stepped through the wall quickly after checking no muggles were watching and paused beside the train. This would not be an easy year. In the month off Draco had been forced to receive the dark mark and attend a meeting with the Dark Lord. Of course Mya hadn't been involved in either.

"Mya?!" Someone had run up to her and had their arms around her waist before she could realise what on earth was going on. The stranger had pressed his lips to hers in an awkward kiss and Mya finally caught a glimpse of bright red hair.

"Mmwedmfh" Fred blinked, taking a step back in confusion,

"What?" Mya mirrored his step back but was trapped within the confines of his arms. What was going- Oh. She hadn't been able to get an owl sent to anyone over her stay at the manor, so explaining what had happened hadn't, well happened.

"I said, Fred I need to talk to you" But before she actually could talk to him Draco was over her shoulder, hands clenched into fists.

"Get your hands off her" Fred blinked again before the confusion cleared, his face changing to open anger. He'd never been one for keeping his expression guarded, unlike Draco. Then again, right now even the blonde wasn't looking so calm. He side stepped Mya within the second and then did something very unexpected. Punched Fred right in the jaw. Mya watched in shock as Fred stumbled back several steps, catching himself and lunging at Draco. The blonde ducked and Fred slammed hard into his back. Draco let out a cry of pain that would have caused everyone around them to stop and look, if they hadn't been doing so already. Draco was hunched over and breathing hard when Lucius grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt collar, roughly hauling him up right and dragging the stumbling blonde far enough away for Mya not to catch what he was hissing at his son.

"What are you even doing Mya?" Fred asked, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. Draco must've punched him pretty hard to cause the trail of blood that had been there. Mya chose not to answer, turning away quickly and rushing onto the train. Hopefully everyone would just disperse if she made her way out of there and not watch the conversation between Draco and his father.

The train was still half empty, so hurrying down to the Slytherin compartment was reasonably easy. Only Blaze was sat on the far bench who barely acknowledged the younger Slytherin. Mya sat close to the door on the opposite seat, eyes trained on the sliding door in anticipation for the blonde.

Pansy was next to enter unfortunately, sneering at the brunette and flaunting down next to Blaze.

"What're you doing in here?" She asked continuing the sneer. Mya raised an eyebrow,

"I've been in this house for the past 5 years, did you not realise?" She plastered on a fake smile purely with the intent to annoy Pansy.

"Fine, what're you doing in this carriage? No one wants you here, and when Draco gets here-"When I get here, what?" The blonde had managed to open the door and step in without the other three noticing. Pansy stammered for a second before composing herself,

"Kick her out. Right Draco? I'm here after all" She elongated his name so he came out as 'Draycooo' and finally the blonde didn't have to fake contempt for her.

"I don't care if you're here, I'd rather you weren't but you seem to follow me like some love sick puppy I've been wanting to kick." He spat, sitting down on the other side of Mya, his right arm going around her shoulder. Pansy's mouth hung open. Ha!

"So, what are _you _doing here Pansy?" Mya knew she shouldn't have sounded smug, but the she couldn't help it. She'd had to put up with that wall flower for years throwing herself over Draco and now he'd finally told her what he thought. Pansy huffed, turning to look out the window. The blonde was on edge, sat bolt upright in the seat until the train started moving. Then Draco's attitude shifted slightly. He became more relaxed and moved to lean against the window, his hand rubbing small circles on the side of Mya's arm. She wanted to ask about what his father had said but now wasn't the time, especially with Pansy in the carriage. Instead she didn't listen to much of the conversation, and instead took to staring out of the doorway as few people walked past. Blaze went out of the compartment at some point, something to do with professor Slughorn wishing to see him. He'd also asked Mia, but she didn't want to leave Draco. Though for some reason she had the felling he wouldn't take no as her final answer. Somewhere along the journey her and Draco shifted positions, and she ended up with his head in her lap. It was comfy at least, and she sat content eyes shifting from the ceiling to the blondes chin now and then and wondering how the year would pan out. He looked strange from this angle, features appearing harsher and sharper. That could have been because Pansy was speaking to him though.

Blaze came back roughly half an hour after grinning from ear-to-ear and bragging about how Slughorn wanted him to join a private club. Mya didn't focus on his words however as she'd noticed the trunks above her and Draco's heads move. She frowned looking up at them, swearing for a second that she saw a shoe. Draco spoke little after that, slightly about what had happened over the summer, but not going into much detail about anything. He must've seen something too.

"Just going to the toilet" She mumbled to Draco, standing up and walking with false purpose out of the carriage, hoping they'd all buy the excuse. Well, Draco wouldn't buy it, the look he threw her as she closed the door gave that away, but that didn't really matter. She needed a break from that atmosphere. Pansy had been glaring at her the whole time, ready to jump on her every time she'd opened her mouth. No, she needed some fresh air and that wouldn't be found in the Slytherin end of the train, for some reason none of their windows even opened so she had to trek half way down the train. Several Hufflepuffs were gathering around the next carriage, all clustered around the sweet trolley and deciding what to buy. Scowling in annoyance, half at herself for not bringing any money, Mya moved past them, sliding the door to the next carriage and praying for it to be clear. Ha, no such luck.

Fred was stood at the end of this carriage, his hand stuck out of the window as the train sped along. If he wasn't careful he'd get it caught on a branch and at this speed it could really do some damage. Mya mentally cursed, turning as quietly as possible and back peddling down the carriage.

"Mya?" _Damn it. _The teenager stopped, turning to look over her shoulder and raising an eyebrow. "What's wrong with Malfoy's back?" _Double damn it._

"You slammed into it what did you expect?" Yeah, he wasn't buying that. "Fine" She grumbled, "But I'm not having this conversation here." With that in mind she walked down to the nearest empty carriage, pushing open the door and waiting for Fred to follow before pulling the blinds down and closing it back into place.

"Can't you just let it go? He shouldn't have hit you, he knows that" Ok that wasn't strictly true as in Draco's mind it probably was a reasonable thing to hit a Weasley.

"What are you doing with him?" Fred started the second the door was closed barely letting the brunette finish her sentence, "What the hell happened?" Mya rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.

"It's complicated"

"Try me" Ok he was being ridiculous.

"Why? Why does it matter what I'm doing? Or who I'm doing it with?" Hmm, that didn't come out quite right; technically she wasn't doing anything with anyone. Fred shook his head, laughing at what appeared to be his own personal joke.

"Do you love him?" That caught her off guard, and it wasn't really something she'd thought about, which in itself was bad considering she'd asked him that before. Did she love Draco? Well, yes, she supposed so. Yes, yes she did.

"I do" she nodded to herself in agreement. It really was just that simple when it came down to it.

"And does he love you?" This time it was Mya's turn to laugh, just as harsh as Fred's had been seconds before.

"Not in so many words."

"So he doesn't?"

"No, no I think he does, it's just not easy for him to say" That was an understatement. Fred was silent for a heartbeat, then out of nowhere launched into a mini speech;

"And what about me? I loved you Mya and then you disappear for two months, killed for all I know, and then turn up with Malfoy! What the hell's so special about him?!" Special? Special?! Nothing was _'special_' because that would imply there was something good going on his life.

"You don't know him, not really." Once she started she wasn't able to stop, "No one does. That whole stupid facade of being Slytherin's prince, the rich kid who can do whatever he wants because who his father is. Do you honestly think that's how he _wants_ to act?" Fred was speechless, which was good because Mya still wasn't finished. "He needs me." Her voice had risen through her outburst, but dropped down the a whisper at the end.

"I needed you."

"No you don't. You have a family, and friends, and people around you who would never even think of harming you! Draco has none of that, not really. He has me, and that's it."

"What's wrong with his back?" Back to the that again, really?

"That's not my place to tell."

"Before, in the courtyard, you said no one knew about his father, or his back" Mya cursed herself inwardly.

"That's not my place to tell." She repeated, arms crossed over her chest "And it's not your place to guess or spread rumours." The hidden threat was there showing on Mya's face as she pulled open the door, pausing to look back at Fred. He had a solemn expression on his usual happy face that made Mya's heart ache. What _was_ she doing?

"I truly am sorry Fred"

And with that she walked back to the Slytherin compartment, head down to avoid any unwanted eye contact.

When the train came to a stop, Mya waited for the other two exit the carriage before standing up herself ready to reluctantly follow, but was stopped as she realised Draco wasn't walking behind her. She gave him a questioning look, leaning against the door lightly.

"I'll catch you up" he said looking around. She shrugged, half curious but not wanting to miss the carriages, she continued off the train. Pansy and Blaze had disappeared off into another horse drawn carriage, so Mya was left with the 'dogs'.

"If you chase your tails I'll give you a cookie" Both looked up intrigued though had clearly missed her private joke. Thankfully Draco soon strode towards them. She knew better than to ask him what that was about, so instead she settled for placing her hand over his and keeping her eyes down.

ZNZNZN

Mya sat through the sorting ceremony barely paying any attention. Slughorn was the new teacher, and the plump man appeared more interested in the food available than being introduced. Although she did pick up on the fact he hadn't been named Defence against the dark arts teacher and potions master instead. Snape had finally gotten his way then. That was a little worrying considering the last time the head of Slytherin had been in a D.A.D.A class it had resulted in Mya nearly killing the professor. With that going around her head she ate little at the feast, managing half a plate before heading down to the Slytherin common room before anyone else. She'd snuck into the Gryffindor common room last year thanks to the help of Fred and George to stay in Ginny's room, and after that had gone south had had to stay in her actual Slytherin dorm room, but it was anyone's guess what she'd do this year.

Sighing she walked through the portrait and looked at both sets of stairs.

"Now where" The brunette muttered, slight bitterness in her tone. It would have to be her actual dorm room wouldn't it. Oh, yippee.

"Top of the right stair case" Ok that wasn't her dorm room. Turning only her head, Draco was stood directly behind her.

"Your room?" She frowned taking a step backwards to separate them slightly. For some reason that thought hadn't occurred. Why hadn't it? It was the logical suggestion considering she'd spent most of the nights in his room at the manor anyway. But Draco simply nodded and moved past her, walking up the stairs and not bothering to check if he was being followed. Perhaps he just expected her to.

"Fine but you can be the one to drag my trunk up there" Mya grumbled, jogging up the stairs two at a time in an attempt to catch up.

The room still looked exactly the same; green walls, green and silver sheets, even a dark green carpet. A typical Slytherin room really. And a 'typical' Slytherin was sat on the far bed. She went to join him, pausing to peer down at the blonde head of hair. It was still kept in neat perfection, but no longer slicked back with a ridiculous amount of hair gel. Mya reached out unconsciously to touch it and Draco's head jerked up blinking in surprise.

"Sorry" She mumbled going to take a step back before he caught her wrists with his hands and pulled her down onto his lap.

"S'fine" He murmured, hands releasing her wrists and moving painstakingly slowly to her waist. His lips were slow and practiced against hers, giving the occasional nip on her bottom lip as his hands tightened around her waist. Mya was overly aware to keep her own hands off his back, noting how painful it would be to touch. But she wasn't thinking quite clearly enough.

Draco fell back against the sheets, a cry of pain causing Mya to jerk back instantly.

"Oh god I'm so sorry" She said, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. How could she have been so stupid to push him backwards? Draco had moved off his back and was now balancing carefully on his elbows attempting to breathe through the pain.

"Not your fault" He said through gritted teeth, eyes squeezed shut until the burning sensation had passed. Well, it was her fault for the new wave of pain, but she certainly hadn't caused it to begin with.

"What did your father say?" Draco sighed standing up and pulling his shirt over his head, discarding it on the floor as he walked to the mirror to examine his back. Of course Mya'd want to know that, she cared. And that was a hard thing to get used to.

"To focus on the task ahead and not disappoint the Dark Lord, needless to say he also mentioned not getting involved with you" This time it was Mya's turn to sigh. It sounded like the exact same speech her mother had given her, only there wasn't a specific task given to her yet. Draco returned back to the bed, edging himself down next to the brunette. The bandages had been discarded several weeks prior once most of the cuts had closed up to scars, but they were still all prominent. It had never looked ok when Mya'd first seen it, but thanks to Lucius' recent outburst the blondes back was ten times worse. She reached out to take his hand, leaning her head on his shoulder and blowing out a breath. No words needed to be said. No words ever needed to be said, just like when they were younger.


	60. Yes

_**A/N: ok, I was optimistic and thought you'd all finally got it but from a new review, apparently not! Please do not show me the URL to Bellatrix Lestrange's wiki page, I know my facts and I know in the god damn books she is Narcissa's sister and Mya would be related to Draco. HOWEVER and this is a veeeery important point so please read carefully, in MY version, in THIS story, Bellatrix Leatrange is not a member of the Black family, she is NOT Narcissa's sister. I have changed some facts for this story considering I'm pretty sure Lucius doesn't actually beat his son and there is no actual Mya Lestrange. Why is this so hard for some of you to understand? Please, for my sanity stop telling Mya and Draco are related, in this version, no they aren't.**_

Oh and on a side note, thank you to the person who corrected me on how to spell Blaise, I was rushing to get the chapter up and hadnt checked names properly so I'll correct that at a later date.

Warning: Oh and uhm, this chapter's basically smut... Eh I decided I wanted to try it, plus come on, you knew it was coming eventually. Alas I don't really want to put the whole story up to an M rating, so this chapter alone is M rated, you probably shouldn't read it If you're under M...  


She slid towards him on the bed, unable to take her eyes off his, watching them turn dark with desire and feeling her skin prickle in response. Their mouths met hesitantly, gently and Mya was caught off guard by the softness of it. His lips were warm and light, and she felt the tight restraint in his body. Draco was holding himself back for her as though she could break at any second.  
He pulled back with obvious difficulty. "Are you sure?" His voice was hoarse and breathless, need evident. Mya had never heard him sound quite like that before and in that moment she was never more sure of anything in her entire life.

This time _she_ kissed _him_, pressing against him tighter, her own desire rivalling his. His hands were running all over her, warm and inconsistent, grasping her hair, the back of her neck, her waist, her thigh, and in the back of her mind she realised it was nothing like with Fred. This wasn't joking or relaxed. There was something raw about the way Draco seized her, the way he wanted her, tasting her lips with desire, pulling her hips tightly against his so she could feel his hardness. They pulled at each other feverishly, unable to get close enough, until she was practically on top of him.

His brain had shut down at the touch of her lips, not wanting to think about the consequences of the situation through properly. And even less so as her hands tore open the buttons of his school shirt to get her fingers on his pale skin. Even though she'd seen him half naked more times than she could count it was still a beautiful sight. Yes, there were definitely too many clothes in the way still. His tie was next to go, being thrown haphazardly to the floor, shortly followed by the unbuttoning and removing of his trousers and finally boxers. How long had he stared at that delicate mouth, watched as it shot fierce insults at him and swore hatred, excited him, matched him, and now it was against his, swollen and bruised already from the intensity.

He'd removed her school clothes within seconds, showing up whatever quite attempt she'd done with his moments earlier, and was now pulling down the thin black laced strap of her bra, kissing along the exposed shoulder and up to her neck. The blondes hands roamed her body, slowing down only to undo the remaining clasp of her bra and caress her breasts before returning to their mission. He wanted to touch all of her, spend lifetimes discovering every inch and curve of her body. Mya let out a moan, clutching his hair, causing Draco to smile against her skin, pulling her head down to his for another hot kiss as he took off her remaining underwear without breaking their lips.  
"I want you," he breathed into her ear desperately, his mouth travelling from her jaw back to neck, grazing the soft skin there. Mya felt a shiver of pleasure run down her spine at the comment, wanting to say it back but her head was too foggy to get the words out. His hands were everywhere, tingles of pleasure rushing through her nerves.

Suddenly she felt him hard and hot, moving inside slowly, and they both froze, her breath warm on his face.

Oh god.

They stared at each other, no longer frantic, uncertainty seeping into the little air between them. She was breathing hard, suddenly aware of her hand gripping the now messy platinum blonde of his hair, the other on his bare back, able to feel the slight indents of scars as the concealment charm was wearing off. Less than 2 months ago she'd hated him, blaming him for everything his father had made him do. And what if his father found out about this; or her mother for that matter? Witnessing a kiss had nearly driven them apart, but they were closer than ever right now. She clenched around him involuntarily, causing the usual grey eyes to become dark and heavily lidded with lust. It made her shiver, unable to look away.

Draco kissed the line of her jaw again, softly this time, as if reassuring her through touch everything would be fine, before pushing deeper. Mya shut her eyes, ignoring the unnatural pain she felt and tried to focus on the pleasure.

_Yes…_

She must have spoken aloud because the corner of the Slytherin's mouth curved into a satisfied smirk, her lips crashing down onto his in an attempt to get rid of it. He moaned himself at the look in her eyes as they reopened, the desire and increasing pleasure, knowing that his own most likely mirrored hers. Draco had to master up all of his self control as she started moving her hips to meet his, feeling like it would all be over in a second if he let go, and that would just be embarrassing. He clenched his fingers around her thin waist and kissed the brunette hard, letting her control the pace even though he was desperate to be in charge. Whoever said Draco Malfoy wasn't a gentleman? He watched as her head fell back drinking in her small whimpers and moans of his name, his lips instantly latching on to the new exposed skin.

The blonde held her hips tighter, deepening his thrusts as he began to take charge, letting his hands roam her body again, though kept them momentarily still as her moans became faster and higher in pitch, somewhere in the back of his mind glad he had his own room on a completely different floor. Mya gave a satisfied sound, almost of relief, and he began to thrust into her faster, deeper, harder, unable to get enough of her. She pulled him closer, their bodies pressing together and moving in time, their voices blurring with the other. His left hand moved down to twine his fingers within hers and then he came, releasing everything that was wound up so tightly the past years into her, his mind going blank with ecstasy for what seemed like a small eternity.

When Draco finally opened his eyes Mya was kissing him, and he returned her kiss deeply, feeling contentment setting into his whole body, kissing her like he meant it. She sighed. Her legs loosened around his waist as they explored each other's mouths unhurriedly now. Draco was the first to pull away, taking in a gasp full of much needed oxygen as he untangled himself from her, waiting for Mya to almost tumble off sideways and lie down beside her.  
"Are you ok?" he asked, as she lay her head on his chest, pulling her closer and exploring the curve of her back with his right hand. Ok was an understatement. She felt amazing, happier than she had in years and finally at peace with herself. And judging by the smile the blonde was giving off, he was experiencing the same thing.  
"Mhmm" Draco arm tightened around her side as he lay listening to her breathing now slow and steady. He stayed awake long after Mya had been overwhelmed with sleep, tracing his fingers along the delicate skin of her forearms, shoulders and back. He had to find a way to kill Dumbledore, if not to please the dark lord, then to keep Mya out of harm's way.

_**A/N: Ok, so this was my first attempt, be kind :P There probably won't be much more of this in the story, I just wanted to give it a try.**_


	61. Ah Miss Lestrange!

_**A/N: So, it finally happened in the last chapter. Did any of you really doubt it wouldn't? Gosh give me some credit! The reviews for the last chapter were **__**so**__** nice! I just wanted to thank those that did leave a comment; they were lovely to read and made me want to get this chapter up sooner. Oh and I know Lucius is meant to be in Azkaban for a year(ish), but for the sake of this story, no Azkaban or dementors kiss for Mr Malfoy.**_

It was still a strange experience waking up in Draco's arms, though the main difference this time was the obvious lack of clothing. Mya's body ached all over from the previous night, and as she slid out from under the still sleeping other form she made a mental note never to do anything that vigorously again. Heading into the bathroom she turned on the hot tap to full, stepping into the shower instantly and letting the water cascade down her back. She didn't want to wash away the events of the night before, the smell of the blonde still lingering on her skin, but there was no way she could go to classes like that. If rumours started about the two of them, more than they already had, it could all be over. Lucius, Bellatrix. Neither would be happy with what their offspring was doing, in fact both would be furious and take it out on both teenagers.

When Draco started banging on the door she realised she'd spent too long in the shower and shouted a quick ok before hurriedly shampooing her hair and covering her body in some of the shower gel that didn't belong to her. Having to turn the shower off was almost torturous, getting out of the hot water and standing in a steamy bathroom, but it had to be done. She took one of the towels from the cupboard, rubbing her hair for a minute with it then wrapping it around her body before finally unlocking and opening the bathroom door. Draco was sat on the bed, wearing nothing but the thin material of his silk sheets over his lower half.

"Round two?" He questioned with a smirk, standing up and letting the sheet drop off as he walked across the room to meet her, his lips brushing against hers in what started off as an innocent kiss. Although as she hooked her arms around his shoulders and answered with her own deeper response, it became anything but.

ZNZNZN

They ended up missing breakfast, and their first lesson as Mya had to take yet another shower (which was also disrupted by Draco, leading to a third shower), and finally made it in time for their potions lesson.

"This is your fault" She hissed as they rushed down the corridor, "I'm sure this is going to do wonders for the 'just friends' facade we're trying to pull off". Draco merely shrugged, a grin still plastered on his features. Knowing her luck, he was going to be grinning like a fool for the rest of the day. Although that begged the question that now swirled around her head; was there any point in that facade? Most had speculated over the two for years, even when they weren't talking the rumours had still circled like a common cold. She dreaded to think what people were now thinking up with them as 'friends' once more. Would it reach back to their parents? And if so, surely they'd put them down as adolescent rumours? Or it could reach back to them and Draco could get tortured.

Mya's attention was drawn back as Professor Slughorn arrived seconds behind the two entering the classroom, a cheerful smile on his face as he observed the group. Without realising it, having been too lost in her own thoughts, she'd walked into the room and sat down at a desk next to the blonde. Several others turned their heads in anticipation of anything happening, a pair of eyes burning into the back of her dark head which she had no doubt belonged to Pansy. Clearly she wasn't happy with the turn in events, had the girl even spoken to Draco since? Or had Draco spoken to her rather. It was unlikely; he seemed to avoid her like the plague.

"Ah, Miss Lestrange!" He Slughorn practically gushed when his eyes landed on her, "I'm afraid we missed you at the little meeting on the train. No need to worry, there will be plenty more!" _Great._ That was just what she needed, stuck in a club full of people who were scared of her no doubt or hated her. Let's face it, that was the majority of the school by now; even the Weasley's no longer wished to see her. She'd made a royal mess of things if truth be told, and for what? The blonde sat next to her? Her green eyes slowly slid sideways to look at him, meeting clear grey orbs instantly. Had he been looking at her too?

"What?" Mya whispered, an eyebrow rising. Draco merely continued to grin that stupid foolish grin at her. Oh yes, he was the epitome of subtlety. Before she could tell him off however Slughorn began addressing the class and she had to substitute it for a whack on the leg with her palm. Not quite as effective, but he did tone down the grin, a little.

"Ah yes. Now what you see in front of you is a curious little potion known as Felix Felicis, but it is more commonly referred to as liquid luck." The potions master paused to wave the tiny bottle around, making sure every student got a good look. It didn't look like anything special, just clear liquid inside that could quite easily have been water. And water certainly wasn't all that lucky. Perhaps it wasn't water then.

"One sip and you'll find that all your endeavours will succeed" Draco's head shot up, the last sentence clearly catching his attention and Mya could bet why. He'd told her little of the task the Dark Lord had presented him with. Just the basics really, that he had to kill their beloved head master. Was beloved the right word? Perhaps not, but the old man wasn't hated, which would just make this task even harder. If it had been someone everyone hated, such as their charming head of house, well that would have been a walk in the park. But it wasn't. Dumbledore would be difficult to get to, difficult to poison or curse. Realistically Draco didn't stand a chance, and everyone knew it. It was an impossible task, set to punish the Malfoy's for Lucius' slip up back at the ministry.

"And this is what I offer you today for the student who manages to brew an acceptable draft of living death! I should point out, only once has a student brewed something sufficient enough to claim this prize. Never the less, good luck to you all" Living death? Mya didn't recognise the name; believe it or not she'd never had to make it before. But it would be found in the text books and then it was a simple task of following the instructions. Draco determinedly got to work next to her, putting in the most effort the brunette had ever seen him do in the subject. He needed that liquid luck, it was the only possible way he'd get the task done. With that in mind Mya also got to work. Potions had never been her strong point, but she was at least going to try and get that damned liquid luck for him.

An hour later they were told to stop and right then she knew she hadn't won. For one thing the finished product was meant to be pitch black and hers was a light blue at best. Draco faired a little better, his more dark blue possibly grey in colouration. Neither was enough to get the liquid luck though. Ironically Potter won that, as if he needed any luck. Draco didn't quite storm out of the classroom, but he didn't exactly walk out quietly either. The brunette was torn between chasing out after him and realising he probably wanted to be alone, finally deciding on the latter and sitting back down at the now empty desk.

**A/N: Sorry this took me so long to get up; I've been ridiculously busy getting ready for uni etc etc etc and seem to have found my way back onto roleplay which has taken up some of my time. But this story will never be abandoned, even if I don't update in a while. I worked out there were roughly 10 chapters left, give or take, probably less now.**


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